The price of Apple iPhones could triple following the implementation of comprehensive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“CNN” reports that Dan Ives, head of global technology research at the financial services firm Wedbush Securities, stated that iPhones produced in the U.S. could cost three times more than their current price of around $1,000.
This is because the very complex manufacturing ecosystem currently based in Asia would need to be rebuilt.
“You build that (supply chain) in the U.S. in a factory in West Virginia and New Jersey. Those will be $3,500 iPhones,” he said, referring to high-tech manufacturing facilities where computer chips powering electronic devices are usually made, as reported by Nacionale.
Even then, it would cost Apple about $30 billion and three years just to move 10 percent of its supply chain to the U.S., according to Ives.
In February, Apple announced it would invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years as part of efforts to expand production outside of China and avoid Trump’s tariffs at home.
Technology analysts agree that iPhone prices are likely to increase, even if supply chains remain where they are.
Rosenblatt Securities, a New York-based investment bank, said iPhones could become 43 percent more expensive if Apple passes the entire cost of the higher tariffs onto consumers, according to a research note cited by Reuters.
Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, estimates that iPhones could cost around 30 percent more, but that could depend on the country of production.