The tariffs imposed by President Trump are income taxes that U.S. companies pay for products they import into the States. American firms have the choice to pay the tariff, pass the tariff onto consumers in the form of higher prices, or pay some of the tax and have consumers pay the balance. With Counterpoint expecting Apple and Samsung to raise the prices of their new phones to reduce their burden from the tariffs, consumers in the U.S. might have to shell out more money if they feel compelled to buy a new handset later this year.
North American phone sales are forecast to decline 3% in 2025 due to higher prices from Trump’s tariffs. | Image credit-Counterpoint Research
Counterpoint sees smartphone sales rising in most markets during 2025. The world’s largest smartphone market, China, is forecast to show flat sales in 2025 despite a government subsidy program. The third-largest smartphone market in the world, North America, is expected to show a decline in phone sales this year because of tariff-related price increases. The two markets affected the most by Trump’s tariffs are North America and China. Both are impacted in different ways and both will have disappointing smartphone sales to report this year according to Counterpoint. The latter sees rising smartphone sales in most other markets during 2025.
Huawei is expected to show the highest growth in sales of any smartphone manufacturer in 2025. | Image credit-Counterpoint Research
