Trump threatens 25% tariff if iPhones not made in US

Sharjah24 - AFP: US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if iPhones were not built in the United States, sending the company's share price sharply lower.

Apple has become a main target of Trump's anger at companies keeping their manufacturing overseas and his singling out of a specific company for tariffs is highly unusual.

While designed in the United States, most of Apple's iPhone assembly happens in China, which is caught up in a bitter trade war with the US.

As a workaround, Apple has made announcements that it was shifting production to other countries, including India, but the US president said this would not solve the problem.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had "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 percent must be paid by Apple to the U.S.," he added.

Trump's comments Friday echoed statements he made last week while on a trip to Qatar, urging Apple to bring iPhone production to US shores.