AT&T and Verizon have announced plans to pass the anticipated smartphone tariffs on to their customers. This means that subscribers of these carriers will likely face higher prices when purchasing new phones in the event that President Trump’s global tariffs are implemented.

Verizon’s Chairman and CEO, Hans Vestberg, confirmed that while it is difficult to predict the exact implications, the company does not plan to absorb additional costs associated with smartphones once the tariffs are enforced. During the Q1 2025 earnings call, Vestberg stated, “If the tariff is going to be as high as they say on the handset, we’re not planning to cover that in our work.” Thus, consumers looking to buy new phones from Verizon may have to shoulder these extra costs.

Interestingly, Vestberg mentioned that there appears to be little concern among consumers regarding the tariffs, with some even willing to purchase phones in advance to avoid the additional fees. AT&T is following a similar path as Verizon.

AT&T CEO John Stankey indicated that the company will also pass the higher tariff costs onto its subscribers. Stankey remarked, “I think that if ultimately costs are passed to us from those that we buy handsets from, unfortunately for the customer, we’re going to have to come up with some new ways for them to figure out how to digest that increase in pricing.” This means that AT&T customers can expect to contend with price hikes on smartphones due to these import tariffs as well.

It’s important to note that U.S. telecom operators are already facing challenges. While AT&T added 324,000 new subscribers in Q1 2025, Verizon lost a significant 289,000.

The forthcoming tariffs are likely to further complicate the landscape for these telecommunications companies.