Will Trump’s New Tariffs Make iPhones Exceed $3K Tomorrow?

Amid an escalating trade war Between President Trump and China, you might have to dig deeper into your pockets for your upcoming purchase of an iPhone or any other Apple product, according to specialists.

Trump is taking a tough stance against China, which is concerning from various perspectives, Patti Brennan A certified financial planner and the CEO of Key Financial stated in an email, “Regarding Apple, anticipate that the prices for their products will doubled.”

Yesterday, Trump declared an extra 50% tax on products coming from China, pushing the overall tariff percentage for this nation up to 104%. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, these duties will be implemented beginning Wednesday. briefing today.

Aside from levying duties on imports from roughly 200 nations, Trump declared earlier this week that he would impose an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods, which is where Apple manufactures most of its items. Since February, Trump has boosted the tariff rate on China by 20%.

Should the cost of Apple’s highest-end iPhone 16 Pro Max rise by 104%, it would jump from $1,599 to over $3,200.

However, it's not clear precisely how much impact this has. affect the actual impact of tariffs on pricing If increasing costs lead to a sharp decline in demand, experts observed that companies like Apple and other manufacturers might lower their prices to maintain competitiveness.

Some argue that Apple might shoulder additional expenses initially to remain competitive within the broader technology sector.

Tariffs might cause Apple product prices to rise approximately 10% over the next few months, potentially leading to hikes of $50 to $150 on premium items such as the iPhone Pro Max series and MacBook Pros. Stephan Shipe , a Certified Financial Planner and the CEO of Scholar Financial Advising, stated via email earlier last week.

Best Buy and Target alerted shoppers earlier this month to anticipate increased costs across all items. latest round of tariffs came into force. The tariff increase in February had led Acer to declare that they would increasing the costs of its laptop models .

If you’re looking for a new Apple product or an imported gaming console, such as Nintendo Switch 2 or PlayStation 5 Pro Sure, here’s how tariffs might increase costs, and what steps you can take to get ready.

Read more: reportedly Engaged in Rush Purchases of iPhones Due to Impending Tariffs

What’s happening with the tariffs?

On April 2nd, Trump declared a base tariff of 10% on all imported goods along with what he called "reciprocal tariffs" affecting over 180 nations. This day was christened by him as "Freedom Day." For quite some time, Trump has promoted tariffs as an instrument for balancing the trade gap and generating income to compensate for reductions in taxes. However, numerous economists argue that these tariffs might result in increased costs and potentially have adverse effects on the U.S. economy. Stock prices plummeted following Trump's declaration as the markets showed negative responses to the extensive tariffs.

Trump has taken an especially hard stance on China, which was already subject to tariffs that Trump ordered during his first term in office. The latest round of tariffs means prices for these goods could rise even higher. China has responded to each round of tariffs with its own set of tariffs on US products including coal, crude oil, and agricultural products like chickens, beef, soybeans, wheat, and pork.

In principle, tariffs aim to have financial repercussions for other nations by taxing their products. These duties are initially paid by U.S. companies bringing in foreign merchandise, with the additional cost typically—though not invariably—transferred to consumers through increased pricing.

To what extent might the prices of iPhones and MacBooks rise?

Taxes imposed on goods coming from China—and elsewhere—are expected to result in increased costs for customers. This could lead to higher prices for technology items you rely on daily, such as imported smartphones, tablets, and laptops. TVs and kitchen appliances , could get even more expensive this year.

Should the entire burden of these tariffs be shifted onto consumers, prices for Apple’s goods manufactured in China could skyrocket by as much as 104%. To diversify its manufacturing base away from China, Apple has started producing certain items in nations like India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. However, these alternative locations have not been immune to increased duties; notably, Vietnam experienced a substantial tariff rise of 46%. Additionally, many essential parts used in Apple’s devices come from various global suppliers located across different regions, every one of which is now subject to fresh import taxes.

If Apple did raise its prices in direct proportion to this year's proposed Chinese tariff hikes, the basic iPhone 16e , which starts at $599, could jump up to $1,222. You can get a 15-inch MacBook Air Starting at $1,199 on Amazon; increasing the base price by 104% would bring it up to $2,437.84.

Nevertheless, a tax on products does not guarantee that prices will increase by the exact same rate. Companies might choose to shoulder part of this cost to maintain more favorable pricing and remain competitive.

Apple declared a reduction of $100 in the price of its product. new MacBook Air Last month, just one day following the implementation of the final tariff phase, Apple declared in February that they plan to invest over $500 billion within the upcoming four years. This announcement was broadly interpreted as an effort to encourage President Trump to grant them an exception from the new tariffs. grow manufacturing capabilities within the U.S. .

Brennan mentioned that they have already invested $500 billion in U.S. manufacturing, with no specific exemption for Apple. He also stated that they would likely need to transfer most of these expenses to customers.

Read more: Elevated Tariffs Might Increase the Cost of Adopting Solar Energy

Are you considering purchasing technology now to evade future tariffs?

Should you be thinking about purchasing a new iPhone, gaming system, MacBook, or another piece of technology, buying it now could save you money.

However, if you lack the funds readily available and intend to utilize a credit card or buy now, pay later Experts advise planning merely to evade tariffs by ensuring you possess sufficient funds to cover expenses prior to accumulating interest. Given that the current average interest rates for credit cards are presently high, this step becomes crucial. more than 20% , the expense of funding a large buy Could swiftly erase all the savings you’d gain from purchasing before price increases due to tariffs occur.

"If you put this expense on your credit card and aren’t able to pay it off completely within one or two billing cycles, you could wind up spending significantly more due to interest charges compared to what a tariff might cost," explained Alaina Fingal, an accountant, founder of The Organized Money, and a Money Expert Review Board Member: "I suggest holding off on major buys until the economic situation stabilizes."

One way to save on Apple products , even when prices increase, opting for last year's model rather than the latest version might be more economical.

Should you not be considering an upgrade within the coming year, there isn’t any urgency to purchase a brand-new smartphone. Shawn DuBravac The chief economist at IPC, a manufacturing trade group, stated in an email, “Technological advancements inherently have a deflationary effect, which implies that over time, the performance improves while prices typically decrease for comparable-quality goods.”

Initially released on April 8, 2025 at 12:11 PM Pacific Time.