The United States is a very lucrative market for smartphone manufacturers and a local analyst in South Korea is predicting that Samsung might see its sales fall in the country due to protectionist threats from the president-elect Donald Trump. Different market analysis firms have different methods of calculating a company's market share so it's hard to pick just one and roll with it, however, Samsung was believed to account for approximately 26 percent of the smartphone market in the United States.
SK Securities analyst Park Hyoung-wo predicts that smartphone sales by the company's top conglomerate could be hit hard if the incoming United States government decides to increase the tariff on technology products, including smartphones. “It seems unavoidable for Samsung,” he adds while mentioning that Samsung rival LG might face a similar problem as it could be hurt by protectionist initiatives as well.
There is obviously no confirmation at this point in time if drastic protectionist steps will be taken even if they might have been alluded to on the campaign trial. The threat is very real, though, and analysts are understandably concerned. We'll only know for sure once we're a few months or even a year or so into the new government's tenure.
