U.S. President Donald Trump’s new reciprocal tariffs are scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, April 9, and Apple customers in the United States are hurrying to buy an iPhone before the prices go up. Bloomberg reports that several Apple employees says their stores have been filled with customers “panic-buying” new iPhones.
One Apple retail worker said, “almost every customer asked me if prices were going to go up soon.”
“People are just rushing in worried and asking questions,” said another retail employee said. Apple has not yet given any guidance to store employees as to how they should answer customers when asked about the possibility and timing of price hikes.
While the lines at Apple retail stores isn’t quite up to what employees see at a new iPhone launch, the report says the traffic is comparable to what store see during the holiday shopping season. Sales at Apple stores were higher over the weekend that stores have seen at any other year during this traditionally slower iPhone sales period.
In addition to a 54% tariff on devices from China, iPhones and AirPods from India face a 26% tariff, Vietnam (makes AirPods, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs) is hit with a 46% tariff, while other countries in Apple’s supply chain are facing tariffs ranging from 20% and 37%.
The company assembles Apple Watches, Macs, AirPods and iPads in Vietnam, while assembling parts of its Mac lineup in Ireland, Thailand and Malaysia.
However, shoppers likely have longer than until Wednesday to avoid paying a larger roll of cash for their iPhone, as Apple has taken steps to blunt the effect of the upcoming tariffs on products coming into the U.S. from other countries.
During the last part of March, Apple flew in five plane loads of iPhones and other devices from India, putting them in U.S. warehouses. Those reserves could carry Apple through the next several months, allowing the company to avoid price hikes, at least in the near future.
Analysts say Apple could handle as much as 50 percent of the iPhone demand in the U.S. by solely importing in Indian-made iPhones.
Apple’s stock valuation plunged by more than half a trillion dollars on Thursday and Friday of last week, and it experienced its worst three-day drop in value since the 2001 dot-com bubble bust.
Apple has yet to comment on the tariffs, although Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh will likely discuss the situation on Apple’s May 1 quarterly earnings call.
