On April 11, 2025, just a few days after the announcement of new rates, the Trump administration exempt smartphones, laptops, processors, displays and memory chips from rates, to later clarify that this was a temporary delay.
The US government will re -assess the entire supply chain of consumer electronics in the midst of a study of semiconductors, who can soon be confronted with rates. Earlier last week, the president also announced a 90 -day suspension of ‘mutual’ rates for most trading partners. At the same time, Trump increased rates for Chinese import to an unprecedented 145%. This indicates a strong push for the American production of consumer devices, including Apple iPhones. The urgent question is whether Apple can produce its products in its own country.
The production of Apple devices in the US is possible, but would require significant investments and efforts from Apple and Government Intencies, both present and future, with years of business disruption in between.
China has been developing a robust ecosystem for consumer electronics for decades, with a huge network of suppliers, skilled work, efficient infrastructure and wide production locations. Consequently, more than half of the 200 worldwide suppliers of Apple are located in China, where there are a competent workforce and favorable conditions for large -scale production.
Replication of this in the US would be necessary to attract skilled workers, to reform educational paths and to promote a culture that appreciates higher education – actions that are currently not tailored to the administration policy, as evidenced by the recent immigration stimulating and drawing the US Department of Education. These rates therefore seem to be geopolitical commercial instruments that are clearly intended to secure more advantageous agreements.
If Apple cannot protect long -term expression exemptions, the costs of his devices will probably increase.
Currently, 80% of the total products from Apple are assembled in China, and a rate of 145% can increase the price of an iPhone 16 Pro Max to more than $ 2,600. Apple has started to diversify production to India and Vietnam and moves around 15-20% of production there, but remains highly dependent on China, where 90% of the iPhones are assembled.
In the meantime, Apple is millions of iPhones in stock, with reports of five planeloads of telephones and accessories that fly into the US from India in the three days after the rate communication of 2 April. The upcoming iPhone 17 series, produced in China, can, however, be confronted with rates, allowing price strategies to be complicated and the consumer’s demand may dampen.
