Adapted by:
Ricardo Aguilar
WriterMobile tech writer and analyst. I studied Psychology, but I've been working in the consumer tech field for the last 10 years. Interested in motor projects and new forms of mobility.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
The 104% tariff the U.S. imposed on China threatens to shake the foundations of the smartphone industry. Apple and Samsung, the two dominant players in the sector, rely heavily on manufacturing strategies centered in countries hit hardest by President Donald Trump’s new measures.
Chinese smartphone makers, however, may weather the blow more effectively. Years of international expansion and a focus on markets outside the U.S. have left them with limited exposure to the direct impact of these tariffs.
104%. The U.S. officially imposed a 104% tariff on imports from China, escalating the trade war between the two countries.
The consequences came quickly: Apple’s stock dropped nearly 5%, and other major tech companies saw widespread volatility amid the uncertainty of a new trade scenario that threatens their current strategies.
Chinese manufacturers and the U.S. For Apple and Samsung, importing products manufactured in China or Vietnam into the U.S. means a dramatic rise in costs—ones that can't be absorbed without raising prices. That’s less of an issue for Chinese manufacturers, which have had limited presence in the American market.
Giants like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo don’t sell smartphones in the U.S. But OnePlus, TCL, and Motorola (owned by China’s Lenovo) do operate in the territory. In fact, Lenovo ranks as the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the U.S.
The Lenovo case. Motorola and Lenovo face one of the most vulnerable positions post-tariffs. Their devices come from countries like China, Brazil, and India. Importing into the U.S. under a 104% tariff isn’t sustainable. To survive, they would need to relocate production outside of China.
Still, even a diversified supply chain doesn’t fully shield them. The tariff on imports from Brazil is 10%, while India’s stands at 26%. A 10% tariff can be managed through modest price hikes and internal cost adjustments. But a near-30% hit demands more drastic action.
The consequences for the rest. OnePlus and TCL, though Chinese, began shifting production to India and Brazil years ago to diversify their supply chains.
However, that shift hasn’t gone far enough. Most of their production still takes place in China. The only viable response now? Move production out of China as fast as possible and concentrate operations in overseas factories.
A timely retreat. With the tariffs in place, what little presence Chinese phone makers had in the U.S. could vanish entirely. Aside from Motorola/Lenovo, China never made serious efforts to dominate this market. That stance will likely harden in the face of a revived trade war.
Beyond smartphones, companies like Xiaomi that sell home goods and monitors in the U.S. will struggle to stay competitive without raising prices significantly.
A global impact. If companies like Motorola withdraw from the U.S. market, the resulting revenue loss could force global price increases. Factor in the 104% tariff and the cost of Qualcomm hardware—imported from Taiwan to the U.S.—and the ripple effects become clearer.
Firms like OnePlus, TCL, and Xiaomi, which maintain only a small U.S. presence, may absorb those losses more easily without pushing higher prices on consumers in other markets.
But not everything is that simple. While Chinese brands don’t dominate U.S. smartphone sales, they compete in other categories like TVs, monitors, and home appliances. The question is whether they’ll offset losses by raising prices in those segments—or spread the increases across their entire product lineup, including smartphones.
The component war. Major Chinese smartphone brands rely on U.S. components like Qualcomm processors and Corning Gorilla Glass. But that reliance is now uncertain, as Qualcomm outsources chip production to Taiwanese companies like TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung Foundry.
Likewise, Corning is expanding its global footprint with plants in Asia and Europe to meet demand. Meanwhile, U.S. sanctions bar American memory companies from selling advanced chips to Chinese customers, complicating China’s efforts to reduce its tech dependence on the U.S.
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