What is the price of a smartphone? The impact of Trump’s tariffs on the US smartphone market: A reviewer with more than 10 years experience
A reviewer with more than a decade of experience writing about technology. She likes mobile photography and telecom. Previously, she worked at DPReview.
The US smartphone market is not normal. When it comes to answering the question, “How much does this phone cost?”, a little math is required, as most of us purchase our phones through a number of different plans. Things are even more complicated because of the 34 percent tariffs that President Donald Trump is going to increase on April 9th. Will Apple pass the additional cost of the phone on to buyers? The market seems to think so. It is likely that this is the reason that Apple’s shares are down almost 10 percent.
Apple will keep making phones abroad, and figuring out ways to get them to the US without paying extra taxes. Apple is good at what it does, and they are already trying to get the supply chain to absorb some of that additional cost. If Apple raises the price of the iPhone, we will probably buy phones through carrier subsidies, which will help cushion the blow.
The Impact of U.S. Car-Hadron Trade Agreements on the Prices of Sports Cars, Autonomous Trucks and Heavy-Vehicle Production
And yet there’s still plenty of uncertainty around these tariffs, including whether they might get pushed back yet again. It is complicated like I said.
Volvo is thinking about boosting its US-based production, including bringing new models to the factory it operates in Ridgeville, South Carolina, the company’s CEO told Bloomberg. Volvo already builds the EX90 SUV and Polestar 3 at the plant in order to take advantage of the federal EV tax credit.
VW is adding fees to imported cars sold in the US, according to The New York Times. The amount will be determined later this month. It was the clearest indication that tariffs could lead to higher costs for consumers.
The world’s biggest company is not commenting on its plans, at least for now. Japanese media reports say that Toyota doesn’t have any plans to raise prices because of the tariffs. Spokesperson Rick Bourgoise declined to comment further.
The company has its own problems and has not responded to the news of the tariffs. In response to commentary on X, Musk said that they were better insulated from the new fees because they only sold cars to American customers.
“We understand that the current environment creates uncertainty,” Antonio Filosa, chief operating officer for the Americas at Stellantis, said in an email to employees. “Be assured that we are very engaged with all of our key stakeholders, including top government leaders, unions, suppliers and dealers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as we work to manage and adapt to these changes.”
Stellantis said it would be pausing production at its Windsor, Ontario, plant for two weeks, from April 7th to April 14th, with operations resuming on April 21st. It is pausing production at its plant in Mexico for the month of April. The layoffs will affect workers at the Warren Stamping and Sterling Stamping plants in Michigan, as well as the Indiana Transmission Plant and Kokomo Transmission Plant and Kokomo Casting Plant in Indiana.
The parent company of Jeep has good and bad news to share in response to the tariffs. The good news is that it’s copying Ford’s idea of employee price discounts to the public. The bad news is that it’s temporarily laying off 900 workers while pausing production at several factories.
The prices of sports cars have fallen in the last year or two, but tariffs are going to put renewed pressure onPorsche’s prices. Last month, the company’s executives told reporters that it was likely to pass the cost of tariffs along to its customers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Nissan is making some other hard decisions, though. The company would be stopping the production of the QX55 at its plant in Mexico. Nissan expects production to continue for those models sold elsewhere.
Nissan initially said that it would cut a shift at the Smyrna, Tennessee, assembly plant where it makes its popular Rogue SUV once Trump’s tariffs went into effect. But now that the tariffs are here, the company reversed itself, committing to keeping two shifts at the factory.
Source: Price hikes, idled factories, layoffs: how car companies are responding to Trump’s tariffs
The decision to pull the GLA from the US market: Jaguar Land Rover’s response to the announcement of US-tariff-line restrictions
The entry level GLA could be pulled from the US market by the luxury automaker. But no decisions have been made yet, as spokesperson Amanda Painter said that Mercedes-Benz was still “currently assessing the impact of the US-tariff lines.”
I am appalled. It will kill Jaguar Land Rover here in the town,” one resident told The Guardian. “There could potentially be job losses because JLR export enormously to America. The effect is going to be huge.
JLR told media that its local business is resilient and they are not going to make any immediate decisions. But residents of the town where Jaguar operates its factory were dour about the news.
James Bell, a spokesman for the company, said in an email that it is committed to the growth of the U.S. automotive industry through local production and innovation.
Hyundai gets the award for most “Trump-appeasing” announcement, with a commitment to spend $21 billion in the US (despite most of that investment already being underway). While Trump was able to point to the announcement as proof of his tariffs being successful, the Korean automaker was warning its dealers that the new import taxes could cause prices to go up.
Honda dealers say that most of their popular vehicles are made in the US. Chris Martin mentioned the Autos Drive America trade group which said rebuilding supply chains in a matter of weeks was impossible with the added financial burden of tariffs.
The automaker isn’t going to be merging with Nissan, but it is adjusting to the tariffs. The company is planning on producing its next-generation Civic hybrid in Indiana instead of Mexico to avoid import duties, Reuters reported last month.
General GM told employees at the Fort Wayne plant that they would increase light-duty truck production, as well as add some temporary workers to backfill for employees during summer vacation. The company is considering making some of its truck production in the US. Adding extra people to support the plant isn’t physical upgrades for the plant.
The discount may help Ford clear out some of its ample inventory, which stood at a 74-day supply of vehicles on its dealers’ lots at the end of March, compared to 50 days for GM, according to JP Morgan Global Research.
Ford acknowledges on its website that it is uncertain for many Americans. “Whether it’s navigating the complexities of a changing economy or simply needing a reliable vehicle for your family, we want to help.”
The company states that there are significant savings on a number of gas, diesel, plug-in hybrid, and Ford and Lincoln vehicles during the promo. EV customers will get the discount on top of the Ford Power Promise deal, which extends through June 30th and includes a complimentary home charger. The models that were excluded from the limited-time offer are Ford Raptor, Escape, and Navigator SUVs.
Ford was first out of the gate with a response geared toward people panic shopping, hoping to capitalize on pre-tariff sticker prices. The new program from America, For America offers employee pricing to everyone.
BMW said last month it expected tariffs to cost it 1 billion in 2025, but hasn’t announced a response yet.
Now that the tariffs are in effect, the German automaker is holding all vehicles assembled in Mexico and overseas at US ports until further notice, according to Automotive News. The 37,000 units in dealer stock and at the port are ready to sell, despite the new import fees. The cars would be marked with a $0 “No Added Import Fee” option code for easy tracking.
Source: Price hikes, idled factories, layoffs: how car companies are responding to Trump’s tariffs
Why do U.S. tariffs shouldn’t be affected by the Trump era? A transportation and R&D editor for the Los Angeles Times
is a transportation editor and has covered aviation, public transportation and electric vehicles. His work has appeared in two newspapers.
Markets don’t like uncertainty. Neither do trade partners. There is a chance that the Americans will be hit with tariffs from our allies. The Smoot-Hawley tariffs, famous to anyone who reads Dave Barry Slept Here, are credited with worsening the Great Depression. The Trump tariffs are even bigger than those disastrous ones, based on nonsensical math that, for instance, hits an average EU tariff rate of about 2.7 percent with a “reciprocal” rate of 20 percent.
The Treasury Secretary doesn’t know why Canada and Mexico weren’t included in Trump’s big nonsense tariffs chart. Bessent also said he wasn’t part of the tariff negotiations with countries such as China, which is, frankly, weird. If the secretary of the treasury isn’t in the loop on tariff negotiations, uh, who is?
This is like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. Previously, the Trump administration weakened the dollar by announcing its crypto reserve. Musk decided to take away American soft power in order to boost our economy, attract talent and tank our ability to work as the world’s R&D hub. Congress, which has abdicated control of spending, is effectively left out. The tariffs endanger American wealth and safety. When we will get the explosion, and how big it will be, are the most pressing questions.
The tariffs of any kind can be disruptive. Since companies know they will be paying extra on items they import, they will pass the increase on to consumers, especially the poorest ones. They are likely to look for ways to cut costs and are unlikely to splash out on investments, says Meissner. Consumers are likely to do the same thing — cutting back on spending and holding onto necessities for longer than they would have otherwise, at least in part because they know there’s higher likelihood they’ll be fired if companies trim costs.
Wolfers says the increases do not correspond to the inflation that happened in the wake of COVID. During that time, increased prices meant more money for companies, which could then be used to pay their employees more. But — because again, tariffs are a tax — this money will go straight to the Trump Administration. So wages will likely remain the same, even as everything costs more.
The economy was doing well prior to the tariffs. The latest tariffs announcement was preceded by a dip in consumer confidence. Consumers have already been hurt by the actions of DOGE, which include firing and unfiring people, cutting services, freezing grants and generally running amok in the government. In March, consumers’ expectations for the future were the lowest they’d been in more than a decade. In particular, people were nervous about their employment, which is the kind of thing that leads people to cut spending.
There are two things that explain the idiotic taxes. The first is that the Trump Administration is run by bozos whose main qualification is that they are Donald Trump’s spineless yes-men. The second is that Trump himself is by temperament a gangster, and he’s looking for leverage over every country and business that deals with the US. One farmer says domestic farmers have been unsuccessful in their efforts to get exemptions to tariffs so they do not get adversely drawn and quartered, buying more expensive equipment while selling less food abroad. Trump has indicated he’s open to making deals to lower tariffs on individual countries.
Trump’s supposed ultimate goal is to bring manufacturing back to the US, but this isn’t going to happen either. That requires a less uncertain environment so companies will invest in building here, for one thing. It also requires a workforce — and it’s unclear why Americans would choose to work in manufacturing jobs as long as they have other options.
Source: We just declared a trade war with the world
How unfair are the tax cuts in the U.S.? An explanation based on a pair of tweets from the president, Jill Stein and Clemence
Those deals are “a way of making people beholden to you,” says Barrett. “I’m torn on whether this is just not well-thought out, or whether the uncertainty is part of the design.”
What might one have to do in order to get such an exemption? Well, Colombia, Canada and Mexico provide examples: make a silly concession that lets Trump declare victory while changing nothing of note. After all, Trump is addled by television to a degree that as long as something sounds good on Fox News, it’s a win for him.
The something, announced earlier this week, is a set of globally applied tariffs that make no sense on their face. No sane economist would support this. Through a combination of incompetence, stupidity, and sheer gangsterism, the Trump administration decided to impose a series of taxes which will leave people and companies poorer and will encourage blatant corruption. That is, assuming that the taxes come into play at all.