White House says Trump has no plans to remove 25% tariff on iPhones
Over the past few weeks, Donald Trump has enacted a series of abrupt tariff changes, seemingly raising and reducing tariffs on a whim. The end result has wreaked havoc on the stock market while raising a number of unanswered questions about the impact tariffs will have on global trade. Things reached a nearly comical level of absurdity earlier this year when Trump imposed a whopping 145% tariff on Chinese goods before dropping it down to 30% a few weeks later. Apple, meanwhile, finds itself and the iPhone beholden to Trumps unpredictable tariffs.Apple, for a while, thought it might be able to escape the tariffs in China by relocating a significant portion of its production to India. Trump, however, recently said thats not good enough. Rather, Trump wants to coerce Apple into manufacturing the iPhone in the United States and has plans to implement a 25% tariff.Taking to social media last week, Trump wrote the following:I have long ago informed 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. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US Thank you for your attention to this matter!Predictably, shares of Apple dropped significantly amid investor concerns that the company would be forced to raise iPhone prices, which would have a serious impact on iPhone sales. It is worth noting, though, that Apple might find it more feasible to just take the tariff hit, keep iPhone prices the same, and rely on its massive pile of cash to account for the tariff.White House says it doesn't want to harm AppleAnd amidst all of these debates, the White House is arguing that people are making a big deal out of nothing. During an interview with CNBC, National Economic Council Director Keven Hasset downplayed what he termed a tiny little tariff on tech firms like Apple."The bottom line is, what were trying to do, is onshore as much as we can in the US and make it so the US is not hyper-dependent on imports from China," Hassett said. "And I think one of the things were seeing is that people are moving way faster than you might expect."Hasset emphasized that the goal is to refocus manufacturing in the United States as much as possible "to make sure the US economy is secure and not prone to Chinese extortion."When asked about the possibility of Apple getting a reprieve because shifting manufacturing to the United States would take years, Hassett was cagey but didn't hint that Trump was leaning in that direction."Everybody is trying to make it seem like its a catastrophe if theres a tiny little tariff on them right now, to try to negotiate down the tariffs," Hassett said. "Well see what happens, well see what the update is, but we dont want to harm Apple."Don't Miss: Todays deals: $299 Apple Watch Series 10, $38 Sony portable speaker, $249 DJI Mini 4K drone, moreThe post White House says Trump has no plans to remove 25% tariff on iPhones appeared first on BGR.Today's Top DealsTodays deals: $1,750 Amazon gift card, Sonos speaker sale, Hisense 75-inch smart TV, foam dog beds, moreMemorial Day security camera deals: Reolinks unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98Todays deals: Heybike ALPHA, $299 Apple Watch Series 10, $90 23-piece cookware set, moreTodays deals: $15 Amazon credit, $480 AirPods Max, $60 Instant Pot Duo, $228 Sony XM4, more
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