Trump threatens EU with 50% tariff, iPhone maker Apple with 25%

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 23, 2025 8:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 38 minutes ago

Wall Street dropped astatine the unfastened connected Friday aft U.S. President Donald Trump recommended 50 per cent tariffs connected the European Union, portion Apple shares slid aft helium warned the institution would person to wage tariffs if its phones were not made successful the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 333.4 points, oregon 0.80 per cent, astatine the open. The S&P 500 fell 60.1 points, oregon 1.03 per cent, portion the Nasdaq Composite dropped 303.4 points, oregon 1.60 per cent, at the opening bell.

The president's renewed trade threats sent the planetary marketplace roiling aft weeks of de-escalation provided immoderate reprieve.

Trump recommended a 50 per cent tariff connected the European Union to statesman connected June 1, which would effect successful stiff levies connected luxury items, pharmaceuticals and different goods produced by European manufacturers.

The EU Commission declined to comment, saying it would hold for a telephone telephone betwixt EU commercialized main Maros Sefcovic and his U.S. counterpart Jamieson Greer to instrumentality spot aboriginal connected Friday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a greeting interrogation connected Fox News that helium hopes the president's menace volition "light a occurrence nether the EU" successful negotiations with Washington.

Trump besides threatened to enforce a 25 per cent tariff connected Apple for immoderate iPhones sold, but not manufactured, successful the U.S. More than 60 cardinal phones are sold successful the U.S. annually, but the state has nary smartphone manufacturing.

Trump did not springiness a timeframe for his informing to Apple.

"I person agelong agone informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that volition beryllium sold successful the United States of America volition beryllium manufactured and built successful the United States, not India, oregon anyplace else," Trump said successful a station connected Truth Social. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of astatine slightest 25 per cent must beryllium paid by Apple to the U.S."

U.S.-manufactured iPhones a 'fairy tale': analyst

The White House has been successful negotiations with galore countries implicit commercialized issues, but advancement has been unsteady.

Trump's assertive tariffs successful April, which would person raised the complaint consumers and businesses would person to wage for imported goods by astir 25 per cent, sparked a selloff successful U.S. assets, including stocks, the dollar and Treasury bonds. Markets person since rebounded.

It is not wide if Trump tin levy a tariff connected an idiosyncratic company. Apple did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for comment.

After Trump's levies connected China roseate to much than 100 per cent in aboriginal April, the White House backed disconnected owed to marketplace turmoil, granting exclusions from steep tariffs connected smartphones and immoderate different electronics imported mostly from China, successful a interruption for Apple and different tech firms that trust connected imported products.

Dan Ives, an expert with wealthiness absorption firm Wedbush Securities, wrote successful a enactment to investors that helium doesn't see iPhone accumulation moving to the U.S. successful the adjacent term, "given the upside-down outgo exemplary and Herculean-like proviso concatenation logistics needed for specified an initiative."

A U.S.-manufactured iPhone would outgo astir $3,500 US, and it would instrumentality astir 5 to 10 years to displacement accumulation implicit to the U.S., Ives estimated.

"We judge the conception of Apple producing iPhones successful the U.S. is a fairy communicative that is not feasible."

Apple reportedly aims to marque astir of its iPhones sold successful the United States astatine factories successful India by the extremity of 2026, and is speeding up those plans to navigate perchance higher tariffs successful China, its main manufacturing base.

Apple is positioning India arsenic an alternate manufacturing basal amid Trump's tariffs connected China, which person raised supply-chain concerns and fears of higher iPhone prices.

The iPhone shaper said astir of its smartphones sold successful the United States would originate from India successful the June quarter.