The tariff war unleashed by Donald Trump affects about 60 countries around the world, including Ukraine, and even a deserted island with penguins. It has also reached the countries where Apple manufactures and supplies components for its iPhone, iPad and Mac. The company’s shares have already fallen by 7%.
The tariff war unleashed by Donald Trump affects about 60 countries around the world, including Ukraine, and even a deserted island with penguins. It has also reached the countries where Apple manufactures and supplies components for its iPhone, iPad and Mac. The company’s shares have already fallen by 7%.
Donald Trump has officially announced the introduction of massive tariffs against the United States' trading partners, which he called America’s «Liberation Day».
The minimum basic tariff imposed by the US is 10% — this is exactly what was imposed on products from Ukraine.
Even a group of uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica were included in the list of countries that were hit with tariffs. They have a population of 0 people and are inhabited only by penguins, who now apparently have to pay 10% on their products to Donald Trump.
Heard Island and the McDonald Islands are among several of Australia’s «external territories» listed separately on the tariff list, with goods from which a 10% tariff will be imposed. «Nowhere on earth is safe,» said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The S&P 500 index reportedly lost $2 trillion in market capitalization in less than 20 minutes after Trump announced massive reciprocal tariffs. S&P 500 futures fell 3,6%
Apple has tried to move some of its manufacturing to countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand, which, in addition to China and Taiwan, face high tariffs. But with Donald Trump’s tariff policies, its efforts would be in vain, even if the company moved production to an island with penguins.
As MacRumors notes, «reciprocal tariffs» have been imposed on several countries where Apple suppliers are located. Specifically:
Apple already faces a 20% tariff in China, which is set to increase significantly. Taiwan, where Apple supplies the silicon chips used in all of its devices, faces a 32% tariff.
During Donald Trump’s last presidency, Apple was able to get tariff breaks or avoid tariffs entirely on some products, but Trump says he won’t do that this time. Morgan Stanley estimates that devices imported from China would cost Apple an additional $8.5 billion annually without the breaks, though it’s unclear whether Apple would pass those costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has said in the past that the United States is unable to compete with China and other countries in manufacturing due to a lack of skilled workers with experience working with modern equipment.
Apple shares fell about 7,5% in trading after the tariffs were announced, down nearly 16 points. Trump said the tariffs would take effect on April 9.
According to experts who study global trade, the massive tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday will have a «ripple effect» on the entire technology industry. In addition to Apple shares, Meta and Nvidia (about 5%) and Amazon (about 6%) also fell.
For now, at least, Trump has made an exception for one of the most important categories of technology imports: semiconductors. That means American companies like Nvidia, which uses advanced chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in its artificial intelligence graphics processors, won’t have to pay the 32% tariffs Trump has imposed on Taiwan.
However, it was not immediately clear whether TSMC would still be subject to the general 10% tariffs that Trump also announced. Overall, about 44% of logic chips imported into the US come from Taiwan, according to one estimate.
Experts are already comparing Trump’s actions to the so-called «Nixon shock.» Then, in 1971, Treasury Secretary John Connally convinced US President Richard Nixon to effectively dismantle the Bretton Woods system, which led to global financial instability but ultimately strengthened the US.
The «Trump shock» has so far had less devastating consequences than Nixon’s actions, but it could lead to an increase in the role of technology platforms and the digital economy, as well as an escalation of rivalry between the US and the BRICS.
