President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with a 25% tariff if it does not start producing iPhones in the U.S., his latest salvo directly targeting a U.S. company over how it conducts its business.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Friday morning, Trump wrote he had “long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”
“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” Trump said.
Trump’s post sent shares of Apple lower as much as 4% in pre-market trading, and tipped stock futures into negative territory.
Just minutes later, Trump posted to Truth Social again and threatened blanket 50% tariffs on the European Union, saying trade negotiations with the region were “going nowhere.”
That sent markets into deeper negative territory, with S&P 500 futures dropping 1.5%.
Trump has begun ramping up direct attacks against U.S. companies whose policies he sees as negative responses to his tariffs plan. Last week, the president hit out at Walmart after it said it would likely be forced to raise prices, telling the retail giant to “EAT THE TARIFFS.” Earlier this month, he targeted Mattel with “a 100% tariff” on its toys if it did not move production of them to the U.S.
Roughly 80% of all iPhones are currently made in China, which is still facing an approximately 40% all-in tariff even after the U.S. agreed to a climbdown from the 145% tariffs Trump had earlier imposed. In April, Reuters reported Apple had begun making plans to shift production of the iPhone to India by the end of 2026.
Trump had already signaled last week his displeasure with Apple CEO Tim Cook, telling members of the media: “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said. “I said to him, ‘my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India.’ I don’t want you building in India.”
New iPhones are currently priced at approximately $1,199. Wall Street analysts have offered up various estimates about how much a made-in-America iPhone would cost, ranging from $1,500 to $3,500, depending on how much of its supply chain Apple is ultimately able to re-shore.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.