How much is an iPhone made in the USA?

Open your mind, if the iPhone is really made in the United States, the price could be outrageous.

On Friday, Trump once again urged Apple to "move back to America," causing a stir in the market. He posted on Truth Social that he had long told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he hoped the iPhones "sold in America will be made and produced in America," otherwise, "Apple must pay at least a 25% tariff to the U.S."

According to Wall Street analysts' predictions, if the Trump administration insists on relocating the iPhone production line back to the U.S., the price of an "American-made" iPhone will soar by at least 25%, potentially reaching as high as $3,500—190% more than the current price.

This would directly impact the demand for Apple products and the wallets of American consumers, while also exacerbating inflationary pressures, profoundly affecting investors and the valuations of tech stocks.

The Cost of an American-Made iPhone: Prices Double, Competitiveness Collapses

According to CNBC, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan pointed out in a report on Thursday that the current price of the iPhone 16 Pro is $1,199, and if produced in the U.S., labor costs alone would increase by 25%, pushing the price up to about $1,500.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has a more pessimistic estimate, believing that the price of an American-made iPhone could reach $3,500, and Apple would need to invest $30 billion over three years to shift only 10% of its supply chain to the U.S.

Former President Obama once asked the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs about the possibility of manufacturing the iPhone in America, to which Jobs bluntly replied, "Those jobs are not coming back."

The Irreplaceability of Chinese Manufacturing: Labor, Supply Chain, and Expertise

Analysts and industry observers generally believe that an "American-made" iPhone is nearly impossible to achieve.

"It is completely unrealistic to shift manufacturing to the U.S. within the timeframe of imposing tariffs; this is pure fantasy," said Jeff Fieldhack, research director at Counterpoint Research.

The core issue lies in labor costs and scale. According to the South China Morning Post, the hourly wage for iPhone manufacturing workers in Asia is about $3.63. In contrast, California's minimum wage is $16.50 per hour.

Analyst Mohan estimates that the labor cost to assemble and test an iPhone in the U.S. would reach $200, far exceeding the $40 in Asia.

Shortage of Expertise: The U.S. Lacks Engineers on a "Football Field" Scale

Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed out in a 2017 interview that American workers lack the necessary skills, especially engineers. "The reason lies in the quantity and type of skills in a region," Cook explained, "In China, engineers can fill multiple football fields for a meeting, but in the U.S., it's hard to even fill one football field."

The case of Foxconn in Wisconsin has already proven this challenge. In 2017, Trump announced that Foxconn would invest $10 billion to build a factory in Wisconsin. Although the project promised to create 13,000 jobs, it ultimately created only 1,454 jobs, and the factory primarily produced masks, unrelated to electronics

The Complexity of Global Supply Chains: Component Dependency on Asian Production

Even though the iPhone can be assembled in the United States, most of its components still come from around the world, regions that have been subjected to tariffs by the U.S. The processors in the iPhone are manufactured by Taiwan's TSMC, the displays are produced by South Korea's LG or Samsung, and most other components are made in China.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the most valuable parts of the iPhone, such as semiconductors, are currently exempt from tariffs. However, if Trump's suspension period (the 90-day tariff suspension announced on Wednesday) ends, Mohan expects that due to tariffs and increased labor costs, the price of the U.S.-made iPhone 16 Pro Max will rise by 91%.

"While moving final assembly to the U.S. may be feasible, shifting the entire iPhone supply chain would be a much larger undertaking that could take many years, or may even be impossible," Mohan wrote in the report.

Cook's Strategy: Small-Scale Production for Tariff Exemptions

Unlike Jobs, Cook has not completely rejected the idea of U.S. manufacturing. Instead, he has chosen to maintain contact with Trump, including attending his inauguration. Apple has also announced plans to invest $500 billion in the U.S., including some AI server production in Houston.

This strategy proved effective during Trump's first term. Despite Trump's talk of U.S.-made iPhones and Apple building factories in the U.S., the tech company successfully obtained many temporary exemptions for products manufactured in Asia, meaning Apple did not have to pay tariffs on important devices like the iPhone.

According to Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring, before fully committing to producing U.S.-made iPhones, Apple may produce some low-volume products or accessories in the U.S. to seek tariff exemptions. "Given what we now know about the Trump administration's willingness to negotiate, we wouldn't be surprised if Apple commits to some small-scale production in the U.S. (HomePod? AirTags?), similar to its September 2019 commitment to manufacture the new Mac Pro in Austin, Texas, to seek exemptions."