Islamabad May 23 2025: President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with a 25% tariff if it does not start producing iPhones in the U.S., his latest salvo directly targeting a U.S. company over how it conducts its business.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Friday morning, Trump wrote he had “long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”
“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” Trump said.
Trump’s post sent shares of Apple lower as much as 4% in pre-market trading, and tipped stock futures into negative territory.
Just minutes later, Trump posted to Truth Social again and threatened blanket 50% tariffs on the European Union, saying trade negotiations with the region were “going nowhere.”
That sent markets into deeper negative territory, with S&P 500 futures dropping 1.5%.
Trump has begun ramping up direct attacks against U.S. companies whose policies he sees as negative responses to his tariffs plan. Last week, the president hit out at Walmart after it said it would likely be forced to raise prices, telling the retail giant to “EAT THE TARIFFS.” Earlier this month, he targeted Mattel with “a 100% tariff” on its toys if it did not move production of them to the U.S.
