How Trump's import tariffs are making life difficult for Apple

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It was one of those weeks in US trade policy that you'd hardly believe if you hadn't witnessed it firsthand. President Donald Trump initially imposed a global import tariff of 10 % in response to a court ruling - and then, less than 24 hours later, abruptly raised that rate to 15 %. For companies like Apple, deeply embedded in international supply chains, this is no longer abstract policy. It's a harsh reality.

To understand why the current situation is so critical for Apple, it's worth taking a brief look at the chronology of events. Trump had originally imposed so-called "reciprocal" tariffs, which were country-specific and reached a rate of up to 145 TJ in the case of China. The Supreme Court declared these sweeping tariffs illegal on Friday. Trump's reaction was not a complete reversal, but a realignment.

How this customs chaos came about

He invoked Section 122 of the US Trade Act and introduced a new global import tariff of 10 %. This step followed certain legal rules: the rate must apply uniformly, without country-specific differences, and the measure is limited to a maximum of 150 days unless Congress decides to extend it. Section 122 allows rates of up to 15 %. Trump then exploited precisely this leeway the following day.

On Saturday, he posted on Truth Social announcing his intention to raise the rate from 10% to the „fully permissible level” of 15%, effective immediately. He cited as his reason a „thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly worded, and extraordinarily anti-American decision” by the Supreme Court. Whether the 15% level will take effect at the originally planned time of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday remains unclear (via CNN).

What Trump intends to achieve with this move

Observers assume that Trump intends to achieve the same economic effect with the new tariff framework based on Section 122 as with the reciprocal tariffs previously struck down by the court. The crucial difference lies in the legal structure: A measure based on Section 122 is significantly more difficult to challenge in court than the previous version. Trump is therefore not seeking a softer solution, but rather a more legally robust one.

At the same time, he made it clear in his TruthSocial post that this is not the end of the line. The government will work on enacting new and legally permissible tariffs in the "next few months." The current 15 percent regulation should therefore be understood as a temporary solution, not a final state.

Apple and customs mathematics: Six times more than in February 2025

As is always the case with tariff increases, Apple is affected in some way. Even at the 10 percent rate, the company would have had to pay roughly four times as much in tariffs as it would have in February 2025. With the new rate of 15 %, this amount increases sixfold. That's no small sum, even though Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world.

Furthermore, Apple has no easy way to avoid these additional costs in the short term. The company's supply chain has grown over years and is heavily dependent on production sites in China, India, and Vietnam. A rapid relocation is neither logistically nor financially feasible.

The unexpected protective effect of the flat-rate scheme

Anyone who thinks the situation is simply catastrophic for Apple should take a step back. Because the way the new inch is designed limits the overall damage in an interesting way.

Since Section 122 does not allow for a country-specific approach, this tariff cannot be used to selectively increase the rate in certain countries. China, India, and Vietnam, the most important locations in Apple's supply chain, will therefore not be subject to separate, higher surcharges. The 15 percent level applies across the board to all imports, regardless of the country of origin.

Specifically, this means that while the new tariff hits Apple hard, it simultaneously prevents the existing country-specific burdens from being further intensified by this regulation. The 145 % tariffs once levied on Chinese goods are a separate issue. The new global flat tariff of 15 % is added on top of these, but does not further increase the China-specific rates. This is far from ideal, but it could have been worse.

What exactly is putting Apple under pressure right now

Despite the protective effect, the overall situation remains tense. Apple's profit margins are under pressure because import costs have risen significantly. The company essentially has three options: It can pass the additional costs on to end customers through price increases, it can absorb the higher costs internally and thus compress its margins, or it can further diversify its supply chain and reduce its dependence on individual countries.

All three approaches come at a price. Price increases risk a drop in demand in an already saturated market. Margin losses are difficult for investors to communicate. And restructuring the supply chain is a project that takes years and costs billions.

To make matters worse, Trump announced his intention to introduce further tariffs in the foreseeable future. Apple is therefore not only planning with the existing tariff of 15%, but must also anticipate that new regulations will come into effect again in a few months.

Apple is caught in a dilemma with no easy way out.

The situation can therefore be summarized as follows: Apple is paying six times more tariffs than at the beginning of 2025, the supply chain cannot be restructured overnight, and US trade policy will remain unpredictable for the foreseeable future. The protection offered by the blanket regulation is real, but it only mitigates the problem without solving it.

What remains is uncertainty. And for a company that thinks and plans for the long term, that is perhaps the biggest problem of all. (Image: Shutterstock / S.Gvozd)