President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with a 25% tariff if it does not start producing iPhones in the U.S., his latest salvo directly targeting a U.S. company over how it conducts its business. In aposton his Truth Social platform Friday morning, Trump wrote he had "long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else." "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S." Trump said. Trump's post briefly sent shares of Apple lower by more than 4% in pre-market trading, and tipped stock futures into negative territory. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now set to open lower by nearly a half percent, and the S&P 500 is set to slide about four tenths of a percent at the opening bell. Apple, with a market value of nearly $3.4 trillion, is the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. Trump has begun ramping up direct attacks against U.S. companies whose policies he sees as negative responses to his tariffs plan. Last week, the president hit out at Walmart after it said it would likely be forced to raise prices, telling the retail giant to "EAT THE TARIFFS." Earlier this month, hetargetedMattel with "a 100% tariff" on its toys if it did not move production of them to the U.S. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
