What is the expected price of an iPhone if it is manufactured in the USA?
Experts believe that US President Donald Trump's efforts to re-manufacture Apple's iPhones in the United States face significant legal and economic challenges, not even the automation of the "small screw" installation process, according to Reuters.
Trump threatened last Friday to impose a 25% tariff on Apple if it sold foreign-made iPhones in the United States, as part of his administration's efforts to support the job market.
Trump told reporters last Friday that the 25% tariff would also apply to Samsung and other smartphone makers, and that it is expected to take effect at the end of June.
Trump added that it would not be fair not to apply the tariffs to all imported smartphones.
He continued, "I had an agreement with (Apple CEO) Tim (Cook) that he would not do that. He said he would go to India to build factories. I told him it was fine to go to India, but you would not sell here without tariffs."
Apple currently manufactures more than 80% of its products in China.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS last month that the work of "millions and millions of people screwing in tiny screws to make iPhones" would be moved to the United States and automated, creating jobs for skilled workers like mechanics and electricians.
However, he later told CNBC that Cook had told him that doing so would require technology that didn't yet exist.
"He said, 'I need robotic arms and I need to do it at a scale and precision that I can bring (the manufacturing) here. And the day I see that available, it's coming here.'"
Lawyers and trade experts believe the Trump administration's quickest way to pressure Apple through tariffs is to use the same legal mechanism that imposes duties on a wide range of imports.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that moving production to the United States could take up to 10 years and could push the price of an iPhone to $3,500. The latest iPhone currently retails for around $1,200.
Ives added, "We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the United States is pure fantasy and not feasible."
Experts confirm that producing an iPhone in the United States would face significant challenges, from finding and paying an American workforce to the tariff costs Apple would incur to import parts to the United States for final assembly, according to CNBC last month.
There is widespread agreement among analysts and industry observers that this is unlikely, and Wall Street has for years doubted the possibility of Apple manufacturing an American iPhone.
Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America Securities, wrote in a note last month that the price of the iPhone 16 Pro could rise by 25% based on labor costs alone if it were produced in the US, meaning it would cost around $1,500.
Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia University, said that imposing tariffs on iPhones would increase costs for consumers by complicating Apple's supply chain and financing.
He added, "None of this is positive for American consumers."
Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones annually worldwide.
