Apple's chief executive gave former US President Donald Trump a 2019 Mac Pro as a gift, Trump's executive disclosure shows. The unit was assembled in the United States, but the gift came without a set of optional wheels and Apple's Pro Display XDR, sold separately.
While Apple said Trump’s tariffs would affect product costs and give its global competitor Samsung an edge, analysts believe the company has a few tricks up its sleeve to absorb the effects of the tariffs and avoid passing the tariff cost to customers.
Shares of Apple and semiconductor stocks took a notable hit after US President Donald Trump said in a tweet last Friday that American companies should “immediately start looking for an alternative” to their operations in China, a comment that should concern many Silicons Valley companies that manufacture their consumer electronics products in China.
Tim Cook made a "good case" at a dinner with President Trump last Friday that its chief global competitor Samsung Electronics could gain an edge because all of Apple's "Designed in California", "Made in China" products like iPhone will get hit with the new US tariffs.
Apple has argued that Trump's additional tariffs, effective September 1, could have a wide range of negative impact on its earnings while tilting the playing field in favor of its global competitors, but one analyst is out with a new report predicting that the iPhone maker will absorb most of the additional costs stemming from tariffs.
Apple's supplier Sharp is reportedly gearing up to move part of its production out of China in response to President Trump’s latest escalation of the growing US trade war with China.
Apple won't be exempt from any new tariffs, US President Donald Trumpt tweeted today.
A trade war with China is making some companies in the United States less-than-positive about the future, and Apple is no different. The company has issued a warning, saying that additional tariffs could have a wide range of negative impact on the company -- and consumers.
President Donald Trump has implied that the US government might place a ten percent tariff on iPhones, Mac notebooks and other computers imported from China.
The Trump Administration has decided to exclude a category of high-tech products from its latest round of tariffs on Chinese made products. The move comes just days after Apple contacted the U.S. government expressing its concerns about the possible levies, according to Bloomberg.
The Trump Administration's plan to add $200 billion worth of tariffs on products made in China could force Apple to raise prices on some of its most popular products, including the Apple Watch, Apple Pencil, and AirPods. Apple's growing concern about the tariffs is mentioned in a Sept. 5 letter sent to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, according to Bloomberg.
In the letter, Apple explains:
Our concern with these tariffs is that the U.S. will be hardest hit, and that will result in lower U.S. growth and competitiveness and higher prices for U.S. consumers.
Since the beginning of the year, the U.S government has already imposed $50 billion worth of tariffs on goods made in China with an additional $200 billion now being finalized. Besides the Apple products mentioned above, this second package would target the Mac mini, various chargers and adapters, and tooling equipment that the company uses to make and design some products in the U.S.
More trouble could be brewing, however.
The Trump Administration is now considering another $267 billion in tariffs on China, which could affect all categories of consumer goods, including iPhone and iPad.
The tariffs are part of a growing trade war currently showing no signs of slowing down between the countries that represent Apple's two largest consumer markets, the U.S. and China. Back in the spring, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with President Trump about his approach to China. At the time, Cook called the trade policies in China "problematic."
Hopefully, things will improve on this front soon. Otherwise, the cost of Apple products could be going up very soon.
By assembling iPhones in China, Apple has been able to tap into the country's vast workforce and massive manufacturing capabilities. In doing so, the company's most profitable product is also considered an export. That distinction could soon place iPhone in the center of the ever-growing U.S.-China trade fight, according to The Wall Street Journal.