In the wake of Donald Trump’s trade tariffs which he announced on April 2, a day he named ‘Liberation Day’, prices are about to go up on most imported goods. Electronics and cars are getting hit the hardest with higher prices, including the new iPhone.
The tariffs are on almost all imported goods
The newly-established tariffs are on almost all goods imported into the US, based on which country they are coming from.
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Most countries on the new tariff list were given a ‘baseline’ tariff of 10% on all goods, others like China, Russia, or Iraq were given higher numbers.
What the tariffs mean for prices
Tariffs are fees paid to the US government by companies importing goods from foreign countries into the US.
This means that companies often tend to raise their prices on the American consumer in order to make up for the increased cost of manufacturing.
Cars and electronics are going to be particularly expensive
While Trump has instilled a 10% tariff on almost all imported goods, cars and electronics were hit with higher percentages.
Cars and car parts for example now have a 25% tariff, meaning car prices are about to increase in the near future as well.
Why could the iPhone be getting a price increase?
Among the countries hit with a higher tariff percentage is China, with Trump imposing a whopping 54% on all Chinese goods coming into the US. China has since retaliated with a 34% tariff on American goods entering the Asian country.
Apple products could get hit with a price increase since a huge percentage of phones are manufactured in China.
Apple could be forced to raise its prices
With these tariffs, the cost of manufacturing iPhones (and possibly other Apple products) will most likely increase.
And while the American tech company is worth over $3 trillion and could choose to absorb these costs without raising its prices, it’s more likely that the prices will soar instead.
An analysis has shown the increase in prices
According to an analysis by the US investment bank, Rosenblatt Securities, the price of the latest iPhone Pro Max could soon increase from $1,599 to $2,300. That’s a 43% price increase, as reported by Reuters.
Apple was one of the companies hit the hardest by tariffs
In the wake of Trump’s tariffs, Apple was one of the companies hit the hardest by the cost increase, with The Times reporting that the tech company has lost $244 billion since Wednesday April 2 alone.
According to the Guardian, this was the worst day for Apple in the stock market since March 2020.