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Apple analyst: Trump’s trade war could triple price of an iPhone
US President Donald Trump has boasted “jobs and factories will come roaring back” as he unleashed unprecedented tariffs around the world last week.
With his sweeping global tariffs now in effect, steep price hikes on products ranging from clothing to electronics could largely be borne by American consumers. A prominent tech analyst has warned that the price of an Apple iPhone could soar to around $3,500 if they were made in the US.
The president and his economic officials have promised that, as a result of the tariffs, numerous manufacturing jobs will eventually be “reshored” to US, employing millions of Americans.
But Dan Ives, global head of technology research at financial services firm Wedbush Securities, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the idea is a “fictional tale.”
US-made iPhones could cost more than three times their current price of around $1,000, he added, because it would be necessary to replicate the highly complex production ecosystem that currently exists in Asia.
“You build that (supply chain) in the US with a fab in West Virginia and New Jersey. They’ll be $3,500 iPhones,” he said, referring to fabrication plants, or high-tech manufacturing facilities where computer chips that power electronic devices are normally made.
And even then, it would cost Apple about $30 billion and three years to move just 10% of their supply chain to the US to begin with, Ives told Burnett on Monday.
Some background: The making and assembly of smartphone parts shifted to Asia decades ago, as American companies largely focused on software development and product design, which generate much higher profit margins. That move has helped make Apple one of the world’s most valuable companies and cement itself as a dominant smartphone maker.
