Trump threatens 25% tariffs on Android smartphones made outside US

On Friday, May 23, amid new statements by Donald Trump, Android users briefly felt an advantage over Apple, which had previously been threatened with a 25 percent tariff. However, the illusion did not last long – in a new speech published by Bloomberg, the US president mentioned other smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung.

Trump directly speaks about the need to impose duties on other companies that produce smartphones outside the US, in particular, mentioning the South Korean giant. According to him, any brands that produce devices abroad should be included in the tariff list. This statement actually puts under attack not only Apple, but also all Android smartphone manufacturers, most of which are assembled in South Korea, Vietnam, India and Brazil.

If the initiative is implemented, American consumers may face a noticeable increase in smartphone prices in the summer. At the same time, experts doubt that companies will limit themselves to compensating for duties only in the US market – the price increase may also affect other regions.

Trump noted that his goal is to achieve a level playing field for all market participants: “This will most likely be Samsung and anyone else who produces this product. Otherwise, it would be unfair.” He added that duties will not apply to those who build factories in the US, but by that time all manufacturers focused on the US market may fall under the new trade policy.

At the same time, the president emphasized that he is not against production abroad per se. However, in his opinion, if companies want to trade in the US, they should either pay tariffs or localize production.

Previously, many industry representatives pointed to the complexity of organizing the assembly of smartphones in the US. In particular, Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have repeatedly emphasized that it is difficult to find specialists in the country who can work at such enterprises. According to experts, even taking into account duties, phones assembled abroad may be cheaper than those manufactured in the United States.

The technology sector is experiencing a rapid decline in capitalization amid growing chaos in the global market. The new tariff imposed by Donald Trump has caused serious shocks, and stock markets continue to decline for the second week in a row. Updated US tariff rules came into effect at the beginning of this week, which increased pressure on the global economy. The American president has imposed high tariffs on imports from almost all countries, temporarily leaving an exception only for semiconductors. However, new restrictions may be introduced in this segment in the coming days, which threatens the stability of supply chains for many technology companies.

The situation has particularly affected Asian markets, where the biggest drop since 2008 is recorded. Shares of such giants as TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix and Foxconn Technology are losing significantly in value. At the same time, pressure is also growing on the American market: the securities of Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, AMD, Intel and other leading players continue to fall in price. Nvidia has recorded the largest losses – since the beginning of the year its shares have depreciated by more than 30%. Apple will record a capitalization drop of about 26% for the year

Experts warn of a rapid increase in prices for consumer electronics in the US. It is expected that the price of the flagship smartphone iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1 TB of memory may increase from $ 1,599 to $ 2,300. Companies are already reacting to new risks: Nintendo has postponed the start of orders for the Switch 2 console, and even the most optimistic forecasts no longer count on stabilizing prices for video cards. The consequences will be felt not only by US buyers – global markets will also face unpleasant changes.

The cryptocurrency market has also come under pressure as the crisis deepens. Bitcoin fell to $75,000 today, a significant retreat from its January record, when the cryptocurrency’s value almost reached $110,000. The decline has also affected other digital assets, which has only intensified the wave of instability amid the growing crisis.