Trump Urges Apple to Build iPhones in U.S.Experts Weigh In on the Hurdles Ahead

Former President Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 25% tariff on Apple for every iPhone sold in the United States that isn’t manufactured domestically.

Former President Donald Trump’s push to move iPhone production to the United States is facing steep legal and economic hurdles, according to experts. On Friday, Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Apple for any iPhones sold but not made in the U.S., as part of a broader plan to re-shore American manufacturing jobs.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking to CBS last month, echoed the administration's ambition, claiming that the intricate work of "millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones" would eventually come stateside through automation creating high-skill jobs for mechanics and electricians.

However, Lutnick later acknowledged on CNBC that Apple CEO Tim Cook raised a significant barrier: the necessary automation technology doesn't yet exist. “He said, I need to have the robotic arms do it at a scale and a precision that I could bring it here. And the day I see that available, it’s coming here,” Lutnick recounted.

To fast-track pressure on Apple, the Trump administration could rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) the same legal mechanism used to justify sweeping tariffs in the past. The law allows the president to take economic action after declaring a national emergency that poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to the U.S.

“There’s no clear legal authority that permits company-specific tariffs, but the Trump administration may try to shoehorn it under its emergency power authorities,” said Sally Stewart Liang, a partner at Akin Gump in Washington. Liang noted that typical avenues for such tariffs require lengthy investigations, and targeting Apple alone could unintentionally give competitors an edge undermining Trump’s goal of reshoring U.S. manufacturing.

Experts also point out that Trump has historically viewed IEEPA as a flexible tool, with uncertain judicial limits. “In the administration’s view, as long as he enacts the ritual of declaring an emergency and pronouncing it unusual or extraordinary, there is nothing a court can do,” said Tim Meyer, a Duke University international law professor.

A Manhattan-based court is currently weighing whether IEEPA grants the president tariff authority at all, in a case brought by 12 states challenging Trump’s prior use of the law. If the administration prevails, Meyer said, it could be a green light for Trump to cite nearly any emergency including the trade deficit as justification to impose Apple-specific tariffs.

Still, experts caution that relocating Apple’s iPhone production to the U.S. would be a massive undertaking. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimates it could take up to a decade and could raise the cost of an iPhone to $3,500 nearly triple its current retail price of $1,200. “We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the U.S. is a fairy tale that is not feasible,” Ives wrote.

Even without relocation, a tariff on iPhones would likely drive up consumer costs and disrupt Apple’s complex global supply chain, warned Columbia University economics professor Brett House. “None of this is positive for American consumers,” he said.

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Source: NDTV‍