Apple Inc., which counts China as its biggest manufacturing hub and the US as its largest market, is now at the center of an escalating geopolitical fight that threatens to span tariffs and regulatory probes. The Trump administration’s new 10% levy on Chinese-made goods is poised to squeeze the company at an already-challenging time, when it’s suffering from sluggish iPhone sales and playing catch-up in artificial intelligence. And in China, the country’s antitrust watchdog is weighing a probe into App Store policies, though that process began months before Trump took office. The company’s smartphone archrival, meanwhile, has one immediate advantage. Unlike Apple, Samsung Electronics Co. makes most of its devices outside China — in places like Vietnam and India. That means it won’t face the tariff dilemma of either raising prices or lowering its profit margins, though a broader trade war is likely to engulf countries well beyond just the two main antagonists. Apple successfully sought an exemption to iPhone tariffs during the last Trump administration by arguing that Samsung would benefit. But it’s unclear if that trick will work a second time around. Another potential headwind: President Donald Trump has floated the idea of a tariff on chips, including those produced in Taiwan, where Apple gets most of the processors that power its products.

Full report : Apple is now at the center of an escalating geopolitical fight between the US and China due to tariffs and a backlash from growing anti-US rhetoric in China.