Global smartphone shipments increased 1.5% year over year in the first three months of 2025, despite potential headwinds looming, IDC said Monday. Shipments rose to 304.9 million units, said an IDC report, which came after a confusing weekend for smartphones and the Trump administration's China trade policy.
New tariffs from the Trump administration could increase the price of smartphones in the U.S. by as much as 48.8%, warned the IPC, which represents electronics manufacturers. “Reciprocal tariffs have far-reaching consequences beyond just higher prices on finished imported goods,” Shawn DuBravac, IPC's chief economist, said in an emailed statement Friday. “Trade is essential to supply chain resilience, innovation, and cost competitiveness.”
Telecom industry associations have had little to say on the record so far on the tariffs President Donald Trump unveiled Wednesday. A baseline tariff rate of 10% on all imports takes effect Saturday, while China and EU countries that manufacture products used in the telecom sector face higher reciprocal tariffs starting next week.
While the White House increasingly wields tariffs as an economic policy tool, parts of the tech, media and telecom universe see a growing risk of getting enmeshed in trade fights. Some communications technology could be particularly exposed, Telecommunications Industry Association Director-Global Policy Patrick Lozada told us. Broadcasters, meanwhile, are bracing for tariffs that could potentially result in lower advertising spends. SpaceX's temporary loss of a $100 million contract over a U.S./Canada tariff fight also could point to satellite communications getting caught in the thicket of U.S. trade disputes (see 2502060004).