Customers in the United States may soon see higher prices for electronic gadgets such as smartphones and laptops, and they will have President Donald Trump to blame for that.
The increased prices may affect brands such as Huawei and Lenovo, with the possibility that Apple will also have to make its iPhones more expensive.
Trump To Place Tariffs On Products From China
The Trump administration announced that it will be placing tariffs on up to $60 billion worth of goods from China, with most of the products to be from the technology industry.
The complete list of affected products from China will be released within the next 15 days, and the tariff will be 25 percent.
The proposed plan has not yet specified how exactly gadgets such as smartphones and laptops will be affected. However, the tariffs will likely make the prices of the products go up, with the worst case scenario that the 25 percent increase will be passed entirely to customers.
Will The iPhone Be Affected?
The tariffs will affect major Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and Lenovo, which have penetrated the U.S. market. The tariffs, however, may make their products too expensive for most consumers. One example that was given was the Lenovo Yoga 920, which has a starting price of $1,300. With the 25 percent tariff, the price may increase all the way up to $1,625. This will likely make customers look at other brands.
One of the most important questions in relation to the tariffs on China, however, is whether it will affect Apple and its iPhones. While the smartphones are designed in the United States, they are assembled in China. Since the iPhones are being shipped from China to the United States, they will be affected by the proposed taxes.
To illustrate, if Apple decides to pass on the tariffs to its customers, the 64 GB iPhone 8 price will go from $699 to $873.75. The 64 GB iPhone X price, meanwhile, will increase from $999 to $1,248.75, taking its cost deeper into the four-figure territory.
Trump, however, may decide to make an exemption. Last year, Apple committed to build three big plants in the United States to help Trump's goal of bringing life back to the U.S. manufacturing industry.
Does this make Apple an ally in the eyes of Trump, saving the iPhone from a significant price increase? Or will the administration include iPhones in the tariffs to force Apple to transfer its manufacturing facilities from China to the United States? It looks like the answer will be revealed in about two weeks.
