Trumps drop 'Made in the USA' label for new phone and a debate ensues: How to define 'made'?
Eric Trump, Don Hendrickson, Eric Thomas, Patrick O'Brien and Donald Trump Jr., left to right, participate in the announcement of Trump Mobile, in New York's Trump Tower, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By BERNARD CONDON
When the Trump family unveiled a new phone before a giant American flag at its headquarters earlier this month, the pitch was simple and succinct, packed with pure patriotism: 'Made in the USA.'
The Trumps are apparently having second thoughts.
How about 'proudly American'?
Those are the two words that have replaced the 'Made in the USA' pitch that just a few days ago appeared on the website where customers can pre-order the so-called T-1 gold-toned phones with an American flag etched on the back. Elsewhere on the site, other vague terms are now being used, describing the $499 phone as boasting an 'American-Proud Design' and 'brought to life right here in the USA.'
The Federal Trade Commission requires that items labeled 'Made in USA' be 'all or virtually all' produced in the U.S. and several firms have been sued over misusing the term.
The Trump Organization has not explained the change and has not responded to a request for comment. Neither did an outside public relations firm handling the Trumps' mobile phone business, including a request to confirm a statement made to another media outlet.
'T1 phones are proudly being made in America,' said Trump Mobile spokesman Chris Walker, according to USA Today. 'Speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.'
The language change on the website was first reported by the news site The Verge.
An expert on cell phone technology, IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo, said he's not surprised the Trump family has dropped the 'Made in the USA' label because it's nearly impossible to build one here given the higher cost and lack of infrastructure to do so.
But, of course, you can claim to do it.
'Whether it is possible or not to build this phone in the US depends on what you consider 'build,'" Jeronimo said. 'If it's a question of assembling components and targeting small volumes, I suppose it's somehow possible. You can always get the components from China and assemble them by hand somewhere.'
'You're going to have phones that are made right here in the United States of America,' said Trump's son Eric to Fox News recently, adding, 'It's about time we bring products back to our great country.'
The Trump family has flown the American flag before with Trump-branded products of suspicious origin, including its 'God Bless the USA' Bibles, which an Associated Press investigation last year showed were printed in China.
The Trump phone is part of a bigger family mobile business plan designed to tap into MAGA enthusiasm for the president. The two sons running the business, Eric and Don Jr., announced earlier this month that they would offer mobile phone plans for $47.45 a month, a reference to their father's status as the 45th and 47th president. The call center, they said, will be in the U.S., too.
'You're not calling up call centers in Bangladesh,' Eric Trump said on Fox News. 'We're doing it out of St. Louis, Missouri.'
The new service has been blasted by government ethics experts for a conflict of interest, given that President Donald Trump oversees the Federal Communications Commission that regulates the business and is investigating phone service companies that are now Trump Mobile rivals.
Trump has also threatened to punish cell phone maker Apple, now a direct competitor, threatening to slap 25% tariffs on devices because of its plans to make most of its U.S. iPhones in India.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Japanese P-1 Patrol Aircraft Underused: Board of Audit
News from Japan Society Jun 28, 2025 13:17 (JST) Tokyo, June 28 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-1 aircraft, the first domestic patrol aircraft, is underused mainly due to engine corrosion and problems with electronic devices, the government's Board of Audit has said. Reporting the outcome of its probe into the matter Friday, the board called for making the maximum use of knowledge gained from past malfunctions and conducting appropriate tests to improve the performance of the aircraft. The board stopped short of disclosing details of the low operational status, such as the number of aircraft active at present, citing national security concerns. The importance of monitoring submarines and military vessels in waters around Japan is increasing, especially after the recent close encounter incidents between Japanese patrol and Chinese military aircraft On June 7, a fighter jet based on a Chinese aircraft carrier made a dangerously close approach to an MSDF P-3C patrol aircraft monitoring the ship in the Pacific Ocean. A similar incident happened the next day. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Trump says he will 'get the conflict solved with North Korea'
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he would 'get the conflict solved with North Korea,' while also saying that such a conflict "wouldn't involve us.' Asked about a report that the North Korean side had refused to accept a letter from Trump to Kim aimed at kick-starting long-stalled bilateral talks, the U.S. president did not answer the question, but instead touted his ties with Kim. 'I get along with him very, very well, and we'll get the conflict solved with North Korea,' Trump told reporters at a White House event. 'Somebody's saying there's a potential conflict, I think we'll work it out.' It wasn't clear what conflict Trump was speaking about, but the North has ratcheted up tensions with U.S.-allied South Korea in recent years by testing advanced weapons at an unprecedented clip. Trump also appeared to inadvertently spotlight fears among U.S. allies that, under his administration, Washington could put their security in jeopardy by not adhering to alliance commitments. 'If there is (a conflict), it wouldn't involve us,' Trump said. 'We're very far away from a lot of these places." NK News, a website that monitors North Korea, quoted an unidentified source earlier this month as saying that the United States had attempted to deliver a Trump-drafted letter multiple times through North Korean diplomats stationed at United Nations headquarters in New York, but they "bluntly" refused. It was not clear when the attempts had been made. Trump said in late March that his administration had been in touch with Kim, and that the two sides could engage each other 'at some point.' The U.S. leader, who met with Kim three times during his first term and became the first sitting American president to enter North Korea, has repeatedly called Pyongyang a "nuclear power," raising questions about whether he could pursue arms-reduction talks rather than return to the denuclearization efforts that ultimately failed in his first term in any attempt to reengage with Kim. White House officials, however, have ruled out such a scenario, saying that Trump 'will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term." Trump has spooked U.S. allies like South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S, troops, with his transactional approach to the alliances, fueling doubts about Washington's commitment to protecting the country. Amid negotiations over punishing U.S. tariffs on South Korea, Trump and his team have at times sought to link trade and security issues, including demands that Seoul cough up more cash for its own defense and for hosting American forces. But regardless of the White House's approach to the Korean Peninsula, it's unclear if North Korea is even interested in returning to talks in the first place. Kim is in a vastly different position than in 2019, when the summit diplomacy between the two sides broke down. In the years since, it has prioritized its nuclear weapons and missile programs, testing a spate of advanced weapons. The country is now estimated to have assembled around 50 nuclear warheads, possess enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more and is accelerating the production of even more fissile material, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Last November, Kim called for a 'limitless' expansion of his country's military nuclear program. In January, he used a key ruling party meeting to announce North Korea's 'toughest' ever strategy to counter the United States, though details of that strategy were scant. Trump's decision to attack key Iranian nuclear sites earlier this month could also play into Kim's calculus, observers say, further cementing his view that parting with his nuclear weapons would spell doom for his regime. Still, the North has so far taken a muted approach to dealing with Trump himself — though it's unclear how long this period of relative calm will last before Pyongyang again attempts to capture his attention. Experts have said Kim could eventually try to shift Trump's focus to the North Korean nuclear issue with a dramatic missile launch or seventh nuclear test.
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan wrestling with US tariff talks as July deadline looms
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japanese and U.S. tariff negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks in pursuit of a deal that will be beneficial to both countries, but significant differences apparently remain in areas such as Washington's treatment of its key Asian ally's automotive industry. Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation. Akazawa, however, did not meet the press following the tariff meeting as he had done after his previous six with U.S. Cabinet members. He was also hoping to hold another separate meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, but the Japanese government stopped short of saying whether one was arranged. The meeting between Akazawa and Lutnick, which lasted about an hour, took place as U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade team increasingly suggest they could give trading partners that are currently negotiating more time for talks beyond early July, when the administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs is set to expire. Bessent said Friday that the Trump administration could complete negotiations with key trading partners by Sept. 1. In a Fox Business interview, Bessent said, "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day" if the United States can make "10 or 12" deals among its 18 highest-priority trading partners and seal "another important 20 relationships" with new agreements. Japan is among the group of 18 trading partners, also including the European Union, India and South Korea, with which the Trump administration has prioritized making deals. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also said at a press briefing on Thursday that the 90-day pause for negotiations could be extended. On Friday, when asked what he might do with the suspension, set to expire July 9, Trump said, "We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter." "I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations, you're paying 25 percent,'" he added during a press conference at the White House. Akazawa arrived in Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial meetings on tariffs. His visit through Saturday comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump failed to strike a deal last week when they met on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. The 90-day pause applies only to country-specific tariffs under Trump's reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent, targeting imports globally. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. However, the Trump administration's additional tariffs targeting the automotive industry, which are not subject to the pause, have been a particular concern for Japan. The administration raised the tariff rate on imported passenger vehicles by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in early April, a measure that has already severely impacted the industry in Japan.
