Apple: China tariffs will hit Apple Watch, Air Pods, cables and chargers
Apple
President Donald Trump's proposed $200 billion tariff on Chinese-made goods won't make your next iPhone more expensive, but it might hit the Apple Watch, Pencil, and Air Pods, according to Apple.
In a letter to the Office of United States Trade Representative, Apple said the Apple Watch, Apple Pencil, Air Pods, and leather cases for the iPhone would be affected by Trump's proposed tariffs.
Also affected would be the MacMini, Apple adapters, cables and chargers, MacBook trackpads, memory modules, graphic cards, PCBAs, as well as components the firm uses for manufacturing and product repairs, testing equipment for Apple's labs, and data center equipment.
But the President offered Apple an "easy solution" to its potential price headache: just make it in the US.
"Apple prices may increase because of the massive Tariffs we may be imposing on China - but there is an easy solution where there would be ZERO tax, and indeed a tax incentive. Make your products in the United States instead of China. Start building new plants now. Exciting! #MAGA," Trump tweeted on Saturday after Apple outlined its arguments against US tariffs on Chinese made products.
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Apple didn't disclose by how much the tariffs would increase its costs, but said "they will increase the cost of Apple products" and argued the burden of the tariffs would fall heaviest on the US and not China.
"Tariffs increase the cost of our U.S. operations, divert our resources, and disadvantage Apple compared to foreign competitors. More broadly, tariffs will lead to higher U.S. consumer prices, lower overall U.S. economic growth, and other unintended economic consequences. As a result, tariffs will ultimately reduce the economic benefit we generate for the United States," Apple said.
The US is considering tariffs on Chinese goods worth $200 billion, following the 25 percent duty on over 1,000 product categories already imposed to counter what the US sees as unfair business practices by China.
Chip giant Intel has also come out against the proposed tariffs, arguing they would "result in widespread harm to the U.S. economy" that would affect CPUs, transmission devices, printed circuit boards, routers, switches, and optical fiber cables.
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