Trump wants a 25% tariff on iPhones unless they're made in US

President Trump takes questions on tariffs, Harvard

After signing a series of executive orders relating to nuclear energy, President Trump took questions from reporters in the Oval Office on topics such as iPhone tariffs, Harvard University, and car production in the United States.

President Donald Trump is threatening a 25% tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the U.S., a move that could dramatically increase the price of iPhones and hurt one of America’s top technology companies. 

"I have 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," Trump posted on Truth Social Friday morning. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.

"Thank your [sic] for your attention to this matter!" he wrote. 

Where are iPhones made? 

The backstory:

The majority of iPhones are assembled in Zhengzhou, China, often called "iPhone City," where Foxconn operates massive facilities with more than 350,000 workers and capacity to produce up to 500,000 iPhones per day, according to The New York Times. Foxconn also has large plants in Shenzhen.

Customers shop iPhones at an Apple store on April 14, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Apple has been diversifying production to India, where Foxconn is investing up to $1 billion to expand assembly, and to Vietnam, where Apple has increased supplier investments. Tim Cook recently confirmed the company is exploring Indonesia as a new hub, meeting with that country’s president in April 2024.

RELATED: Here’s where Apple makes its products

Apple’s supply chain also includes partners in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, and the Czech Republic. Some component manufacturing takes place in Kentucky and Texas, but final assembly of iPhones remains overwhelmingly offshore.

Apple was looking to shift iPhone manufacturing to India as it adjusts to supply chains impacted by Trump’s tariffs. The company’s plans have frustrated Trump, who raised the issue during his Middle East trip last week. 

Big picture view:

Apple now joins Amazon, Walmart and other major companies as being in the White House's crosshairs as they try to respond to the uncertainty and inflationary pressures unleashed by the import taxes being imposed by Trump.

By the numbers:

The Trump administration has imposed 30% tariffs on China for a 90-day period, down from 145% when tariffs were first announced. The Trump administration also announced in April that it will exempt smartphones, laptops and chips used to make semiconductors from tariffs. 

Apple stock had dropped 2.6% Friday afternoon and was one of the heaviest weights on the index after Trump went after the company specifically.

What about Samsung phones?

Dig deeper:

Friday afternoon, a reporter asked Trump why he appeared to be singling out Apple. In response, he said all phone makers could potentially be subject to tariffs if they do not make their products within the U.S.

"It would be more," the president explained. "It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair. So anybody that makes that product."

Samsung – which makes as many phones as Apple, if not more – also manufactures its devices overseas in countries like Vietnam, India, and South Korea.