At the moment, Donald Trump is the president of the United States. Whether that’s who you voted for or not, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s in office. His very “America-first” stance on policy might help in some aspects, but unfortunately, there are also many aspects in which such a stance can backfire and have negative effects.
Just a few months into his second tenure as president, global import tariffs might make those negative effects more obvious than they’ve been so far, especially for tech lovers. Some countries heavily involved in producing the tech that we love have been hit by tariffs, which means that your next phone or laptop is bound to be a lot more pricey.
China and Vietnam, Two Major Phone-Manufacturing Nations, Have Been Hit With Heavy Tariffs
To boost local production and make importing products less attractive, the Trump administration has introduced reciprocal tariffs on imports from 180 countries. The idea is that these countries have costs imposed on imports from the US, so the world giant has decided to “take revenge” on countries several times smaller. Products imported from those countries into the US can have tariffs imposed on them, up to 49% (Cambodia is the highest).
Of all these, to us smartphone lovers, the most important have to be China and Vietnam. Many smartphone OEMs manufacture in those countries, and with reciprocal tariffs of 34% and 46%, respectively, that could mean that phones coming out of facilities in that country could be uncomfortably more expensive the next time that you want to buy a device. Looks like my S22 Ultra might end up spending a few more years in my hands.
“China, China, China.” in particular, may have things even worse. The country is potentially subject to other levies and charges beyond these reciprocal charges. That could mean that the next consumer electronics you buy could have price tags that make your eyes water. You could always get the very best of American tech, though; the Purism Librem 5 USA, with an insane 3GB of RAM, is proudly made in the USA.
Samsung and Apple Will Be Sucker Punched by These Tariffs
Apple and Samsung are the two largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, but with these new tariffs, both OEMs are going to be forced to increase their prices quite substantially with their next releases. I’m already doubled over in pain thinking of it, especially since I like flagships.
Both companies rely on China and Vietnam for their manufacturing, and with these new tariffs on imports, the finished phones are going to have as much as 46% added to their pricing as they get on a ship to the US. Midrangers aren’t looking that bad right now.
Apple, an American company, doesn’t get saved from this. The only real fix to bring pricing under control would be to institute manufacturing in the US. However, the problem with that is that production in the US would be more expensive in the first place. That’s the whole reason manufacturing is outsourced. We’re about to enter a dystopian world of smartphone pricing, and nobody’s going to save us.
