Samsung may temporarily have some price advantage over iPhones, but that advantage may end soon. This is due to the ‘America First' approach that the Trump administration is taking.

Samsung phones may cost more if USA imposes tariffs on more countries

Recently, the Donald Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada and a 10% tariff on goods imported from China and Mexico. Most iPhones sold in the US are made in China, which means there could be an increase in the prices of iPhones, which is an advantage to Samsung, whose phones are primarily made in Brazil, India, South Korea, and Vietnam.

However, the Trump administration is considering imposing a 10% tariff on all countries. Then, the price advantage that Samsung is having over Apple might disappear.

Kyun-Won Kim, a distinguished business professor at Sejong University, told ChosunBiz that if the South Korean government does not intervene, Samsung should actively lobby the US government against the tariffs by making investments in the USA, such as for building chip factories.

Rising component costs, especially the processing chipset, are already stopping Samsung from offering major hardware upgrades. If additional tariffs are imposed, they might hurt Samsung's profitability, which is the last thing the company wants during these dire times when it is facing issues with its cash cow, the memory chip business.

It is reported that the US might exempt Apple's and Tesla's products from tariffs. If this turns out to be true, it could be a major disadvantage for Samsung. The company is looking to ship 40 million Galaxy S25 series phones, and it might not reach that target if it is subjected to tariffs.

Watch our Galaxy S25 Ultra video below.

Samsung has a 23% market share in the US smartphone market. Around 15% of all Samsung smartphone sales come from North America.

The company's mobile and network business minted KRW 117.3 trillion ($80.8 billion) in Q4 2024, a 4% increase compared to the previous year, but its operating profit fell by 22.2%. That shows Samsung is already under pressure to reduce its profits, and additional tariffs will make things worse.

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