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By Theo Burman
Live News Reporter
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President Donald Trump's tariffs on China and other major tech exporters are going into effect today, and consumers could feel the strain in the form of higher prices for smartphones.
The White House has said that the purpose of the tariffs is to encourage companies to build in the U.S, but experts have said moving the supply chains required for products such as the iPhone could increase prices to as high as $100,000.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment on the tariffs on China via email.
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The Context
Trump's tariffs went into effect on April 9, meaning the cost of importing goods into the U.S. from other countries is much higher. The tariffs are particularly high on China, which faces a 104 percent tax on all imports.
However, China and other affected countries are essential to the supply chains for technologies like smartphones, computers, and lithium-ion batteries, meaning costs could soar if manufacturing were moved entirely to the U.S.
This led to Apple reportedly flying phones directly from China and India by the planeful in order to avoid the tariffs, according to The Times of India.
What To Know
As of the end of 2024, the average price for an iPhone was $1,018. According to the Mac Observer, up from $918 the year before.
A 2016 report from MIT Technology Review, which analyzed the supply chain, predicted that the price of an iPhone SE would increase by $100 by moving manufacturing entirely to the U.S.
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Jason Dedrick, a professor at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, said at the time that the increased costs would mainly come from higher labor costs and more logistics for assembly. Overall, in 2016, an entirely U.S.-assembled iPhone would have cost around 13 percent more.
How Much Would an iPhone Cost?
Increasing the cost of a modern iPhone by that amount costs would set consumers back $1,150.
However, smartphones have advanced drastically since 2016, with more complicated hardware and software that has increased reliance on imports exponentially.
In a statement given to Newsweek, Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, said that the cost of a modern iPhone manufactured in the U.S. would be around $3,500.
Ives said: "If consumers want a $3,500 iPhone we should make them in New Jersey or Texas or another state. The concept of making iPhones in the U.S. is a non-starter in our view at $1,000.
"Price points would move up so dramatically it's hard to comprehend and the near-term margin impact on Apple's gross margins during this tariff war could be mind boggling for this U.S. tech stalwart."
CBS reported that the price of the current-gen iPhone 16e, which is currently $599, could increase by hundreds of dollars. The pro version, which starts at $1,000, could face similar rises.
in 2018, investor Glenn Luk predicted that moving the entire production of an iPhone to the U.S. would raise prices to the "$30,000 to $100,000" range. His reasoning was that the skillset of American workers is drastically different to those in tech export countries, and that there would not be the workforce necessary to mass produce iPhones if they were brought to the U.S. alone.
This sentiment was shared by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said in a 2018 interview that common conceptions about China being a tech hub due to cheap labor was outdated, as their workforce was more trained for the iPhone production line needs.
What People Are Saying
**Apple CEO Tim Cook said in 2018:**There's a confusion about China... the popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor cost. China stopped being the low labor cost country many years ago and that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view
"The products we do require really advanced tooling. And the precision that you have to have in tooling and working with the materials that we do are state-of-the-art. And the tooling skill is very deep here.
"In the U.S. you could have a meeting of tooling engineers and I'm not sure we could fill the room. In China you could fill multiple football fields."
What Happens Next
Trump has maintained that the tariffs on China will not be rolled back, and China has in turn accused the U.S. of "bullying" via trade policy. The trade relationship between the two nations is uncertain.
Update 04/10/25, 3:55 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities.
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