AMERICA’S three largest phone carriers have sent a blunt warning to all their US customers.
Following the US President’s latest tariff tirade bosses at AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have confirmed that price hikes are coming.
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Don placed a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, the country where iPhones are mostly assembled.
And whilst smartphones have so far been exempt from tariffs, experts suggest this is not likely to last.
Even if they stay exempt, they added, the impact these have already had on tech supply chains means costs will continue spiralling.
Phone carriers have already taken steps to buffer the impending tariff implications, with Apple announcing it will shift iPhone production to India by 2026.
If the tariff is going to be as high as they say on the handsets, we are not planning to cover that
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg
However, it’s been made clear by a number of tech bosses that it will be customers suffering the brunt of these extra costs.
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg made clear last week that his company is not “planning on covering that”.
He said: “If the tariff is going to be as high as they say on the handsets, we are not planning to cover that”.
The same sentiment was echoed by T-Mobile’s CEO who said that if tariffs come in “that’s going to have to be borne by the customer”.
Just last week it emerged that Verizon lost a number of customers after it raised its prices, the Mail Online reports.
It’s believed the carrier lost almost 300,000 monthly subscribers within the first few months of this year.
This comes just a month after AT&T confirmed it will cut its autopay and paperless billing discounts in half.
This is a discount that gives you money off when paying with a debit card.
From April 24, those enrolled in the program will get $5 off their monthly bill instead of $10.
At the same time, AT&T is doing away with its $5 discount for paperless and autopay customers with a linked credit card.
Economic doubt
The ongoing trade war has been characterized by back-and-forth tariffs, with levies on Chinese products standing at up to 145 per cent.
President Donald Trump has also rolled out a 10 per cent rate on shipments from most other countries but temporarily paused significantly higher tariffs for a handful of others for 90 days.
Trump aims to increase manufacturing in the US and reduce reliance on foreign imports, but the world economy has seen much unrest as a result.
Many major US companies are facing heightening concerns over how the tariff situation will play out.
Wireless carrier T-Mobile has already felt the impact, seeing fewer wireless subscribers in the first quarter than expected.
The company saw shares decrease in value by over fiver per cent in just a matter of hours.
This is down to rising competition in the telecom market where phone companies are pushing price locks and bundled offers to draw in customers amid economic doubt.
