President Threatens Tariffs On EU, iPhones --- Salvos include levies on Europe's imports, smartphones made outside the U.S.

 

"WASHINGTON -- President Trump fired new salvos in the global trade war on Friday, threatening a 50% tariff on imported goods from the European Union and new duties on iPhones and other smartphones made overseas.

Trump wrote that the EU had been "very difficult to deal with" on trade in a Friday morning social-media post. Less than a half hour earlier, he threatened Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, with a tariff of at least 25% on iPhones made overseas.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," he wrote on Truth Social.

"If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.," the president wrote.

Later on Friday, in Oval Office comments, Trump said those tariffs will cover "Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn't be fair." Trump appeared to be referring to companies that manufacture smartphones outside the U.S. He said that the tariffs would likely be imposed in late June.

Stock indexes fell Friday after the fresh tariff threats. Shares of Apple lost 3%, while broader stock indexes finished the day lower by 0.6% to 1%.

Trump's threats build on his effort to pressure CEOs to move more manufacturing to the U.S. and punish allies whose trade policies the White House argues are unfair. Cook met with Trump at the White House this past week, according to a White House official.

The White House didn't provide additional comment. Apple declined to comment, as did an EU representative.

Trump initially imposed a 20% tariff on EU imports, later paused for 90 days to allow for negotiations. A 10% baseline levy remains, and some EU products, like cars, are subject to higher rates.

The president has long criticized European nations on trade, and he said in his Friday morning social-media post that trade discussions with the bloc had made little progress. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" he wrote. He said the 50% tariff would go into effect on June 1.

Trump said in the Oval Office Friday that he is "not looking for a deal." Minutes later, he said the EU likely wants an agreement to avoid the tariffs.

European officials had expressed cautious optimism in recent days that talks were progressing after the two sides exchanged documents outlining some of the trade issues they are seeking to discuss. However, they acknowledged they remain far apart in their positions.

The EU has been unwilling to move on some of Trump's demands, particularly the value-added tax, which the administration views as an unfair trade practice, but EU Economy Minister Valdis Dombrovskis has said the tax is off the table in negotiations.

This past week, Dombrovskis needled the Trump team at a Group of 7 finance ministers meeting by saying their trade deals would be a "suboptimal" outcome for the global economy and suggesting that U.S. allies had to compromise with the U.S. on trade language in a joint statement.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday, hours after Trump's initial threat. In a social-media post after the call, he said the EU is committed to securing a deal that works for both sides, but added that trade between the U.S. and EU "must be guided by mutual respect, not threats."

"We stand ready to defend our interests," Sefcovic said.

In the meeting of finance ministers in Canada this past week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told EU officials they have a "collective action problem," warning that progress on reaching a trade deal with Europe had slowed because each nation has different priorities for an agreement, according to a U.S. official.

Last week, Trump chided Cook for Apple's plans to shift final assembly for many U.S.-bound devices to India. After Trump raised tariffs on goods made in China, Apple accelerated its effort to make most U.S.-bound iPhones in India. Such a move would allow it to claim India as the "country of origin" and pay the lower duties facing that nation.

Bessent, in his Friday interview with Fox, said the administration is trying to persuade Apple to build semiconductors in the U.S.

Technology experts have said that while shifting some iPhone manufacturing to the U.S. is possible, building the full stack of iPhone components and assembling it in the U.S. would be challenging and costly. IPhones contain a patchwork of sophisticated parts, sourced from many countries and put together primarily in China. The U.S. doesn't have facilities that resemble the infrastructure developed in China, nor does it have skilled manpower to assemble iPhones at that scale.

Apple shares declined slightly more than the market, but not to an extent that indicates investor concern that the company would be subject to the 25% tariffs on foreign-made iPhones.

"The market is obviously concluding that this is just a negotiation," analyst Craig Moffett of Moffett Nathanson said.” [1]

 

Drone, the basis of today’s military action, is an „iPhone“ with propellers. You don’t know how to make it at scale? You are funny.

 

1. President Threatens Tariffs On EU, iPhones --- Salvos include levies on Europe's imports, smartphones made outside the U.S. Bade, Gavin; McGraw, Meridith; Winkler, Rolfe.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 24 May 2025: A1.