iPhone prices may be safe from going up, for now
The phone calls between the President and the country’s most lucrative tech company’s CEO have become regular, though it isn’t clear what they accomplish beyond keeping Apple on the nice list.
The economically catastrophic and seemingly random tariff wars reached a new milestone on Monday as the Trump administration announced a new tariff deal with China. While Apple was exempt from much of the tariffs for now, it was still set to take a $900 million hit in the June quarter — which now may have been lessened.
According to a report from CNBC, President Trump said he spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook on the phone after announcing the changes to the tariffs in China. He didn’t share details of the conversation, only that Cook will “even up his numbers.”
There’s no real way to interpret what that phrase might actually mean.
It could be referring to Apple not having to lose $900 million during the June quarter. However, that number won’t be zero. The tariffs are still set to 10% to 30% based on which goods are being discussed — still notably higher than before Trump took office.
The phrase could indicate that Apple’s $500 billion investment in American manufacturing infrastructure could be recouped. However, whether or not Apple’s investment is returned is moot because that money won’t see returns for more than a decade.
There’s a chance that he’s referring to the price of the iPhone, which Apple is still toying with the idea of raising to account for tariffs. While Apple would still be taking a loss at 10%, it isn’t as great a loss as at 145%, so it could eat that difference instead of passing it to customers.
Regardless, Apple won’t be able to “even up numbers” for long, as a semiconductor tariff is still being worked on by the administration. That, and the chaotic back and forth on every economic policy, makes it impossible to predict the next three months, let alone the next three days.
Whatever the case, Apple has enough cash on hand to endure for many years, regardless of the whims of the US presidency. Cook’s phone calls continue to be a part of his strategic playbook, which plays to Trump’s ego in desiring phone calls and dinners with powerful people seemingly as a trade of good faith.
