Trump threatens 25% levy on Apple iPhones made outside the U.S.

President Trump is threatening to impose a 25% tariff on Apple iPhones made outside the U.S., saying he warned the major U.S. tech company to onshore production instead of shifting it around overseas.

Mr. Trump is upset that Apple, which has long relied on China for manufacturing, was shifting some of its production to India.

“I have long ago informed [CEO] Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their [iPhones] that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”

Mr. Trump has maintained a close relationship with Mr. Cook and Apple, whose popular smartphones and other devices got exemptions from tariffs on China. Yet during a recent tour of the Middle East, the president said he had a “little problem” with the executive over iPhone production in India.

Apple uses overseas labor to tap into specific skill sets and to keep costs down. Analysts say it is difficult to calculate how much a U.S.-made iPhone would cost, but some say an iPhone16Pro could retail for as much as $3,500 instead of closer to $1,000.

Mr. Trump said it is possible for Apple to move its production to the U.S.

“They can, a lot of it is so computerized now,” Mr. Trump said Friday in the Oval Office.

At one point, Mr. Trump’s comments to reporters were interrupted by congressmen trying to call him on his iPhone.

It is unclear how Mr. Trump would impose a tariff on the iPhone, specifically. Levies could be wrapped into nation-specific or sector-specific tariffs that the White House has issued or threatened to impose.

Mr. Trump mentioned other smartphone makers, such as South Korean conglomerate Samsung, an indication that all tech companies could face the tariff unless they set up shop in the U.S.

The Washington Times reached out to the White House for specifics and to Apple for comment on the tariff threat.

On another trade front, Mr. Trump threatened the European Union last week with a 50% tariff, effective just a week later on June 1, on such products as European wine, cheese, furniture, clothing, cars and other goods.

The president said Friday that negotiations had been going nowhere and the 27-nation bloc has been “very difficult to deal with” and imposes too many trade barriers, penalties and taxes on U.S.-made goods.

He backed off for at least a month on Sunday, but the back-and-forth illustrated his strategy of using tariffs as threats to spur trade negotiations, sometimes changing by the day.

“I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to Trade and the European Union,” he wrote Sunday on Truth Social.

“I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so,” he said, adding that “the Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly.”

The U.S. had a trade deficit — the amount by which EU exports to the U.S. exceeded U.S. exports to the EU — of more than $235.6 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Mr. Trump is upset about trade deficits, saying other nations are tapping into a rich U.S. marketplace but refusing to buy much from American producers. He wants to reduce trade deficits through tariffs, which are a tax or duty paid by importers on the goods they bring in from foreign markets.

Mr. Trump says tariffs are a great way to force companies to return to America or keep their operations in the U.S., employ American workers and create revenue to fund domestic programs.

Foreign countries don’t pay the tariffs directly to the Treasury. In many cases, U.S. companies will pay the levies, and they might pass on at least some of the cost to consumers through higher prices.

Wall Street reacted poorly to the tariff threats. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 256 points, or 0.61%, Friday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.67% and 1.0%.

Previously, Mr. Trump proposed a 20% reciprocal tariff on the EU as part of his “Liberation Day” plan.

The president has floated new tariff levels before, only for the amount to change.

For instance, Mr. Trump proposed an 80% tariff on China ahead of de-escalation talks in Switzerland, only for his trade team to land on 30% after negotiations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on Fox News, said Mr. Trump is trying to “light a fire” under the EU and Apple with his latest threats.

He also said the EU negotiation has a “collective action problem.”

“It’s 27 countries, but they’re being represented by this one group in Brussels,” Mr. Bessent said on “America’s Newsroom.” “So some of the feedback that I’ve been getting is that the underlying countries don’t even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf.”