During the Trump campaign, numerous promises were made regarding tariffs on goods imported from China. Now, some U.S. economists are worried that Apple might be impacted this time since it makes so many products in China.

During the last Trump administration, Apple was able to remain unscathed by the president’s tariff laws by arguing that tariffs on its products would only hurt consumers. While it seems likely that this will remain the case over the next four years, there is a lot of uncertainty as we wait for the new government’s first 100 days.

It’s also worth noting that Trump is generally full of bluster, but when it comes to actually passing business-related laws, he seems to be more tepid than his persona might suggest. CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld says that in the past, Trump’s statements on tariffs and trade barriers haven’t come true, so that could mean the iPhone will escape tariffs again, according to the Finacial Post. 

It remains to be seen what will happen to prices in Canada if the U.S. goes through with tariffs on tech. Notably, when the U.S. put tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), Canada followed suit shortly after. That being said, both the U.S. and Canada have fairly robust automotive markets, while neither of our countries has similar strengths when it comes to consumer tech manufacturing.

Source: Yahoo News (Wall Street Journal), Financial Post