Trump's Advisor Downplays Announced iPhone Tariffs

Kevin Hassett, director of the US  National Economic Council, stated that the administration of President Donald Trump does not intend to harm Apple with a 25% tariff on iPhones made abroad. However, he added the company needs to move its manufacturing to the US to avoid Chinese extortion.

Speaking in an interview, Hassett acknowledged it will be impossible for Apple to move the manufacturing of iPhones to the US overnight, but added: “I think you’re going to be astonished at how quickly stuff moves onshore. Everybody is trying to make it seem like it’s a catastrophe if there’s a tiny little tariff on them right now, to try to negotiate down the tariffs. In the end, we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what the end game is, but we don’t want to harm Apple.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform last week, Trump wrote he had long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that he expects iPhones that will be sold in the USA will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If it fails to do so, Trump said he will impose a 25% tariff on iPhones made in countries such as India. Apple is in the process of shifting more of the production of its devices out of China. Hassett’s comments also echoed the Trump administration’s view of US companies bearing the burden of the tariffs instead of passing increased costs on to consumers.