US President Donald Trump is once again piling the pressure on Apple for it to manufacture the iPhone stateside, calling on Apple CEO Tim Cook to make America’s most widely bought phone in the “United States, not India, or anyplace else” in a Friday post on Truth Social. Imported iPhones will face a tariff “of at least 25%,” he warned.

But a 25% tariff on imported iPhones could double prices, pushing the price on store shelves to USD 2k and upwards, according to TechInsights’ Wyne Lam, who was cited by the New York Times. “In the short term, it’s not economically feasible,” Lam argued, with upfront costs to develop domestic production capacity and considerably higher labor costs presenting almost insurmountable obstacles while keeping Apple’s flagship product at a commercially effective price point.

There are also numerous other reasons why around 80% of iPhones are still made in China, including the country’s massive and flexible workforce with immense experience assembling miniature components, tooling engineer expertise, and an integrated supply chain close to input suppliers. Rebuilding this labor force in the US and developing an efficient and cost-effective ecosystem would take not just years, but bns of USD — which the Trump administration has so far been reluctant to put its money behind.

Apple execs also firmly have their sights set on the future — and that future may not include the iPhone. With the tech giant increasingly focused on artificial intelligence and believing that the future of consumer tech devices will be designed around it, the company’s best-selling device may be replaced by another yet-to-be-created piece of technology. “I would be surprised if there’s an iPhone 29,” Lam said, meaning that the bns of needed investment to onshore iPhone production may never be recouped.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed in early trading this morning. Japan’s Nikkei is up 0.6%, Korea’s Kospi is looking at gains of 1.0%, and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng is down 0.2%.

ADX

9,665

+0.0% (YTD: +2.6%)

DFM

5,464

+0.2% (YTD: +5.9%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

4,505

+0.1% (YTD: +8.2%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

4.2% o/n

4.2% 1 yr

TASI

11,000

-1.7% (YTD: -8.7%)

EGX30

32,024

+0.2% (YTD: +7.7%)

S&P 500

5,803

-0.7% (YTD: -1.3%)

FTSE 100

8,718

-0.2% (YTD: +6.7%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,326

-1.8% (YTD: +8.9%)

Brent crude

USD 65.31

+0.8%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.35

+0.4%

Gold

USD 3,373

-0.7%

BTC

USD 108,404

+0.4% (YTD: +15.8%)

Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF

USD 3.56

-1.1% (YTD: -0.2%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

142.8

+0.2% (YTD: +2.1%)

VIX (Volatility Index)

22.29

+9.9% (YTD: +28.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 0.2% on Friday on turnover of AED 465.1 mn. The index is up 5.9% YTD.

In the green: National Cement (+5.9%), Dubai Refreshment (+5.8%) and Agility The Public Warehousing Company (+5.7%).

In the red: National General Ins. (-9.6%), National International Holding (-3.8%) and Al Mazaya Holding (-2.0%).

Over on the ADX, the index remained flat on turnover of AED 1.3 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was up 0.1%.

Tags: