Published: 12:31, June 17, 2025
Trump sons to launch Trump Mobile, US-built phone
By Xinhua
(From left) Eric Trump, Don Hendrickson, Eric Thomas, Patrick O'Brien and Donald Trump Jr, participate in the announcement of Trump Mobile, in New York's Trump Tower, June 16, 2025. (PHOTO / AP) 

NEW YORK - The Trump Organization said it will launch a mobile-phone service called Trump Mobile and plans to offer a US-built smartphone later this summer, looking to take on the likes of Apple and Samsung.

"President Trump has targeted phone makers in his tariff push, threatening extra levies on Apple if it didn't shift to domestic production. No major smartphone manufacturer currently makes its products in the US, as the displays, processors and cameras they use are mainly sourced from Asia," reported The Wall Street Journal on Monday about the move.

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The United States doesn't have advanced manufacturing facilities akin to those in China or even India and Vietnam, where electronics assembly has expanded in recent years, nor does it have a mass of skilled laborers trained to do the required work, it noted.

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The Trump Organization said the mobile service would work with all three major wireless carriers. It would rely on resale deals, known as mobile virtual network operator agreements, in which the carriers sell excess capacity on its networks and gain customers without having to bear the costs of marketing to them or signing them up.

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The Trump Organization said customers would be able to use the new service using their existing phones, or purchase its T1 Phone beginning in August. They described it as a "sleek, gold smartphone" designed and built in the United States.