Don’t blame tariffs for an iPhone price hike – blame Apple for betting the farm on China

By now, you’ve heard the media’s Greek chorus: Tariffs on Chinese goods will, in all likelihood, cause iPhone prices to soar. Apple, the implication goes, is caught in the crossfire — a good old American company just trying to make world-class gadgets while politicians ruin everything.

Of course, the truth is much more complicated than that.

Yes, tariffs are bad policy. They’re blunt, regressive, and hurt the very people they’re supposed to protect. Warren Buffett has described tariffs as an "act of war...