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CNN Reporter Spreads Fake News That iPhones Will Cost $7,500 More Under Trump Tariffs

By Joe Setyon August 2, 2019 at 11:42am

A CNN reporter falsely suggested Friday that under President Donald Trump’s soon-to-be implemented tariffs on Chinese imports, iPhones could cost $7,500 more than they currently do.

Trump announced Friday he’s be implementing a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.

…We look forward to continuing our positive dialogue with China on a comprehensive Trade Deal, and feel that the future between our two countries will be a very bright one!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2019

“This does not include the 250 Billion Dollars already Tariffed at 25%,” Trump said, referring to the tariffs he announced in May.

According to CNN reporter Joe Johns, this means the price of an iPhone could rise by $7,500.

“A lot of people are going to say 7,500 bucks more for an iPhone is not ‘de minimis,'” Johns told Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, during a media gaggle outside the White House.

“Would you guys at least just admit that these latest tariffs are going to inject a new level of volatility?”

Kudlow responded: “Well, let’s see how that plays out, because on a lot of these production supply chains and so forth, there are going to be changes.”

Do you think CNN has it out for President Trump?

“A lot of these companies have already said they are fixing to leave China and come either come back to the United States or go someplace else,” he said. “So, I don’t want to outguess that. We are cognizant of that and we want to protect it.”

Watch below, starting around the 9:30 mark:

According to Apple’s website, a 64-gigabyte iPhone XS Max, the company’s most expensive phone, starts at $1,099. A 512-gigabyte version, meanwhile, costs $1,449.

In May, J.P. Morgan estimated that if Trump decided to extend his 25 percent tariffs to the other $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, iPhones would only cost about 14 percent more.

“We estimate a price increase of around 14% is required to absorb the impact of a 25% tariff, keeping margin dollars for all players in the supply chain constant,” J.P. Morgan said in a note to clients, according to CNBC.

Of course, Trump’s most recent tariffs are 10 percent, not 25 percent.

In short, it’s highly inaccurate to say these tariffs would cause a price increase of $7,500 for a single iPhone.

The Western Journal reached out to Johns for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.

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Tags:

Apple, Businesses and companies, China, CNN, Donald Trump, Just In, Larry Kudlow, Media watch, Money, The economy, Trade and tariffs

Joe Setyon

Deputy Managing Editor, Editorial

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Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.

@JoeSetyon

Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.

Birthplace

Brooklyn, New York

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Politics