Apple plans to reduce its tariff penalty on iPhones by making more of them in India
In a reaction to newly announced tariffs that initially appeared to target Apple’s iPhone, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta said he would consider taking the Trump administration to court.
In his initial announcement, President Trump appeared to be singling out Apple, saying that the company should make all of its iPhones in the US rather than in other countries. He said that Apple would pay a 25 percent tariff on iPhones made in India.
“The statement about Apple is something that is obviously disappointing,” Bonta said in a statement first reported by Politico. “It’s almost like [Trump] wakes up in the morning and he says, Hey, I think Apple should build more Apple phones, and so maybe I’ll tell their CEO that he should do that.’ And then maybe tomorrow, he wakes up and he says, Hey, I was just kidding.'”
Bonta has defended Apple, which is based in California and is a major technology employer. He credited Apple as being one of many companies that have helped build the state’s economy into the fourth-largest in the world.
“We’re proud of California companies, and we want to make sure that their rights are not violated, especially by the president of the United States,” said Bonta, “which is not something that you would normally have to protect against.”
Bonta said his office would be examining the actual tariff policies for evidence of it targeting California companies like Apple before making any decision about possible lawsuits.
In a possible reaction to criticism of the new penalty Apple might face, the president later clarified that his tariffs would also apply to other device manufacturers, including Samsung.
Apple has, thus far, not commented on the evolving tariff issues. It is among the US companies temporarily exempt from Trump’s tariffs in China and elsewhere, thanks in part to a cordial relationship between Apple CEO Tim Cook and the president.
However, Apple does not have manufacturing facilities in the US capable of producing iPhones on that scale. Such an undertaking would taken many years, as evidenced by Apple chip supplier TSMC’s five-year effort to get its first US-based manufacturing plant built in Arizona.
During construction, delays in the Arizona plant were blamed by TSMC on a lack of skilled labor. The plan is now operational, but does not yet make chips for the latest iPhones due to Taiwanese restrictions.
The second plant has been delayed, but a third plant is now planned thanks to a federal grant provided by the existing CHIPS Act legislation, which President Trump opposes.
