Discretionary Tariffs on Apple iPhones Won’t Reshore Manufacturing—They’ll Raise Costs and Erode Trust, Says ITIF

WASHINGTON—Following President Trump’s announcement of potential tariffs targeting Apple iPhones, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from Rodrigo Balbontin, ITIF’s associate director for trade, IP, and digital technology governance:

This announcement relies on the flawed rationale that America does not need the rest of the world to succeed as the world’s techno-economic leader.

The largest U.S. technology companies thrive because of their global presence, with the majority of their revenues coming from foreign markets. A discretionary tariff on Apple will not have a positive short-term impact on manufacturing since Apple cannot instantly shift its production to the United States. Instead, such a measure would raise costs and signal to prospective investors that the United States is becoming an unpredictable and unreliable environment due to discretionary actions targeting specific firms.

If the Trump administration is serious about revitalizing American manufacturing, it should pursue a coherent industrial strategy. The administration should avoid cutting R&D funding, reverse the efforts to weaken the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, and demonstrate a long-term commitment by establishing a National Competitiveness Council.

For more on this issue, see:

• “Who Needs the World Anyway? (American Innovators Do)” (ITIF, May 2025).
• “Toward Globalization 2.0: A New Trade Policy Framework for Advanced-Industry Leadership and National Power” (ITIF, March 2025).
• “Why America Needs a National Competitiveness Council” (ITIF, December 2021).