Donald Trump’s trade war could still push up the price of iPhones, Jess Kelly has warned. 

On Saturday morning, the US Government announced that iPhones and other tech products imported from China would not face a 125% tariff. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, tech correspondent Jess Kelly said such a hefty import tariff on Chinese-made phones and computers would have sent prices soaring for American consumers. 

“Whether you have an iPhone, a Samsung phone, whether you’ve a laptop, whatever it may be, the chances are at least some parts of it are manufactured in China and then imported into the United States,” she said. 

“That was likely to cause iPhones to go up; some were saying as much as 300% [in the US].” 

President Trump has said that China has “really taken advantage of our country for a long period of time” and “how people stood for it… is really unbelievable.” 

Beijing, by contrast, has hit out at “bullying practices" of the White House. 

U.S President Donald Trump. Credit: Daniel Torok/White House Photo/Alamy Live News. 13th Mar, 2025.

Given the volatility of the situation, companies are already examining alternative supply chains. 

“It’s thought that this exemption is to give the tech companies a bit of time to move their production and the manufacturing away from China,” Jess said. 

“We know that Apple has already started to produce some elements of the iPhone in India, for example. 

“Around 25% of iPhones are manufactured in India because they had anticipated something like this happening. 

“But the relief for the moment is that technology products are exempt.” 

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Despite this, Jess predicted the ongoing trade chaos could still ramp up costs for tech firms.  

“It’s the domino effect of a lot of this, rather than the obvious tariffs,” she said. 

“Although you may think, ‘iPhones are safe now entirely’, there are other elements of the supply chain that could be impacted. 

“I’ve been saying it for years, look at refurbished phones; I would turn a side eye to the brand new phones for the next while.” 

Last year, America imported $438 billion worth of goods from China.

Main image: A split of an iPhone and Donald Trump. Pictures by: Alamy.com