The price of the iPhone is rising dramatically. Credit: Hadrian – Shutterstock
President Donald Trump’s sweeping import duties, announced on April 2, created massive panic in global manufacturing, which has a major impact on iPhone prices in both Europe and the US.
New trade barriers, including basic tariffs of 10% and higher obligations on all imports in certain countries (such as 88% of South African goods), are poised to disrupt global markets and attack consumers vigorously, especially due to rising prices for popular technology products such as Apple’s iPhones. Customs duties on components made for Apple products in China and India will add prices for the final product.
In the US, where Apple is the biggest player in the mobile market, tariffs could lead to a dramatic increase in iPhone costs. Analysts at Rosenblatt Securities predict that the high-end iPhone, currently selling for around $1,600 in the US, could surge to around $2,300 when Apple hand over tariff costs to consumers.
One of Trump’s complaints, dating back to his first term in office, was that companies such as Apple were producing parts abroad, stealing jobs and paying taxes. To encourage domestic manufacturing, he recently slapped an unprecedented import tax on foreign companies selling in the US.
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For Chinese goods, the latest Trump administration has imposed a 54% tariff on Chinese imports. China has most iPhones manufactured, and with a 20% obligation to import from the European Union, it has impacted Apple’s supply chain throughout the region. The US stock market has already reacted dramatically, with Apple’s stocks plummeting 9%, while Nasdaq is down nearly 6%, the worst performance since March 2020.
Europe is under similar pressure as the EU has learned to deal with 20% tariffs on exports to the US and is urging retaliation measures. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a halt of European investment in the United States, indicating deepening the trade war. For European consumers, the ripple effects of these tariffs could mean an increase in iPhone prices, especially when Apple adjusts its pricing strategy to offset increased import costs from Asian production hubs, which are also hit by tariffs like Vietnam’s 46% tax.
The global economic fallout was immediate. The Japanese Prime Minister said that the prime minister refers to a “national crisis” in tariffs, and Tokyo’s stock market was caught up in the worst week. International Monetary Fund Christarina Georgieva warned of “significant risks” to global growth, and JP Morgan raised the possibility of a global recession to 60%. British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer has called people “globalization failed” in the wake of Trump’s tariffs.
