Despite a recent pause on some tariffs, Apple remains in a particularly thorny spot as Donald Trump's trade war spikes costs in the tech company's iPhone manufacturing hub, China.

Analysts predict that Apple has no clear short-term options to shake up its supply chain to avoid tariffs entirely, and even if Trump grants Apple an exemption, iPhone prices may increase not just in the US but globally.

The US Trade Representative, which has previously granted Apple an exemption on a particular product, did not respond to Ars' request to comment on whether any requests for exemptions have been submitted in 2025.

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On Wednesday, Donald Trump, once again, took to Truth Social to abruptly shift US trade policy, announcing a 90-day pause "substantially" lowering reciprocal tariffs against all countries except China to 10 percent.

Because China retaliated—raising tariffs on US imports to 84 percent on Wednesday—Trump increased tariffs on China imports to 125 percent "effective immediately." That likely will not be received well by China, which advised the Trump administration to cancel all China tariffs Wednesday, NPR reported.

"The US's practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake," the Chinese finance ministry said, calling for Trump to "properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect."

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