People enter the Power Mac Center in Makati for the launch of the new iPhone 14 as it opened at 12:01 am on October 14, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA -- Apple's stock price has been battered lately due to worries over the effects of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on its products, most of which are manufactured outside the United States. 

The iPhone in particular is projected to be severely impacted by the so-called Liberation Day tariffs, as the iconic smartphone is manufactured mainly in China, which now faces a 104 percent tariff rate.

Apple's most premium iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1 TB of storage currently retails for $1,599 in the US, or P91,721.84 in the Philippines on an exchange rate of 1$ = 57.36. If the 104 percent tariff was applied and directly passed on to consumers, the price would more than double to $3,261.96 or P187,112.55

Meanwhile, the more affordable iPhone 16e with 128 GB of storage sells for $599 or P34,359.84 (although a well-known Apple premium reseller here in the country sells it for P39,990). With a 104 percent tariff, the cost could go up to $1,221.96 or P70,094.07.

Worries over a potential price surge have reportedly sent Apple fans in the US "panic buying." According to Bloomberg, there was a surge of foot traffic in Apple Stores over the weekend. An Apple employee said the influx felt like the holiday shopping season.

Some tech commentators, however, have pointed out that Apple may opt to absorb some of the tariff's cost instead of directly passing it on to consumers to keep itself competitive. Others have also noted that Apple has already set up manufacturing facilities in India, Vietnam and Malaysia which were hit with lower tariff rates--lower being relative here as India faces a 26 percent tariff, Vietnam at 46 percent, and Malaysia at 24 percent. 

Even then, prices of Apple products are seen to go up.

Trump's tariffs are supposedly meant to bring back the manufacturing of smartphones, computers, chips and other products to the US. But industry experts have doubted that this was still feasible.

In an interview with CNN, Dan Ives, Global Head of Technology Research at Wedbush Securities, said if iPhones were made in the US, they would cost $3,500 as transferring the supply chain and building the workforce needed to make the product in the US would push up costs.

Apple shares have plunged around 20 percent over the past five trading days, wiping out more than $600 billion from its market capitalization as investors worried over the impact of the tariffs on what was once the world's most valuable company.

But it's not just Apple which was hit hard amid Trump's tariffs. Other members of the so-called Magnificent Seven -- Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla-- have also seen their share prices savaged. 

RELATED VIDEO: