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Apple has asked the Trump administration to exclude components for the new Mac Pro and various accessories like the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad from being subject to a 25 percent tariff on Chinese imports, according to filings with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative uncovered by Bloomberg.

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The administration has promised relief if companies can show that parts or products can only be obtained in China, among other factors, according to the report. In all of its exclusion requests (search for Apple), Apple indicates that "there are no other sources for this proprietary, Apple-designed component."

The new Mac Pro will be assembled by contract manufacturer Quanta Computer in China, according to The Wall Street Journal. The current Mac Pro, released in 2013, has been assembled in Texas since its release and is Apple's only major hardware product manufactured in the United States.

Last month, an Apple spokesperson said "final assembly is only one part of the manufacturing process," adding that the new Mac Pro is designed and engineered in the United States and includes some U.S.-made components.

Trump's administration has threatened to impose another $300 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, which would impact nearly every Apple product, but it has so far held off. In a recent letter, Apple warned that these tariffs would reduce its economic contributions and threaten its global competitiveness.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Asks U.S. for Import Tariff Exemption on Parts for New Mac Pro After Shifting Assembly to China
 
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Lol so all these companies are just going to get special passes anyway for their manufacturing in China? Why even pursue the tariffs in the first place then? Seems like this is more for show than actually implementing anything of substance, but then again that's all this "administration" has done from the beginning :rolleyes:
 
Sorry, they chose to move the production to China, they had already been assembling it in the U.S. previously, which shows that it CAN be done.

Now there could be an argument that the parts can only be purchased from China and thus should be exempt from import tariffs, but the fully assembled machines should absolutely be subject to the import tariffs.

As for the proprietary, Apple designed component, well it is proprietary and designed by Apple, which means they could literally take it anywhere that manufactures electronics (say Samsung in Korea even) and have them manufacture it, sorry, I don't buy into that argument, Apple owns the design, so they can do what they want, but they choose to get it from China, so yes, they should be subject to the tariffs as well.
 
Laughable is the nicest thing I can say about the comments here. It seems MacRumors is filled with armchair production engineers and import/export experts. I said it before and I’ll say it again, if you think that the jobs performed by the uneducated masses of third world countries are a good thing, maybe you should question your life choices. America is past manufacturing, other developing countries are not. Get a decent education and this will not be an issue to you.
 
if you think that the jobs performed by the uneducated masses of third world countries are a good thing, maybe you should question your life choices. America is past manufacturing, other developing countries are not. Get a decent education and this will not be an issue to you.
Somehow Japan is not “past manufacturing” and it’s not a “developing third world country”.
 
No other sources or don’t want to pay more for there to be other sources? C’mon Apple, you’re already making a killing in margins.

Just because they're making a killing in margins does not mean they want to take on the responsibility of making the product in the US. And fully expect them to jack up the Apple Tax long-term if they end up having to.

People like the idea of "Made in the USA" but not "Made in the USA and sold accordingly."
 
Somehow Japan is not “past manufacturing” and it’s not a “developing third world country”.

Japan has had a stagnant economy for two decades and has serious demographic issues. It is the most indebted country, as percent of GDP, by a long shot.

Japan had an early start on cell phones, then Apple and Google came in and completely took over. Their world leadership position in electronics, particularly RAM, flash, and displays, all fell and their core businesses there are now owned by Korea or the US. Japan never had a serious player on the Internet.

Japan is an example of what can go wrong.
 
This is taking profit margins to a whole new level. And no, it shouldn't be allowed. Sorry, you're building the computer over there, you've got to pay the tariffs too

YOU have to pay the tariffs, since you'd be the one buying it.

Do YOU want to pay extra for computers that have to be made in China? Why or why not?

Do you think you can go without upgrading or replacing your computer if it dies?
 
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YOU have to pay the tariffs, since you'd be the one buying it.

Because it's a closed proprietary system, eliminating competition. Imagine if Dell is stuck in China but Lenovo manufactures in the US, Mexico or even Taiwan. Dells now cost 25% more, so you buy Lenovo. They're largely the same computer, and both run your applications the same. Now Dell is forced to manufacture elsewhere or cut margins, they can't pass the cost onto the user like Apple can.

At one point people will say enough of the Apple tax and buy PCs instead. This already happened with smartphones in markets including India and Brazil, people bought Android, forcing Apple to manufacture locally.
 
Apple doesn’t have to really ask. Apple already made a deal with Trump about this trade war stuff and offshore funds repatriation.

Apple gets a pass from Trump - no matter what :)

There are other opinions expressed here, but they are on par with a “CNN perspective” on the world in general. I’m coming from a fairly common sense and business based perspective on this chess game.
 
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Japan has had a stagnant economy for two decades and has serious demographic issues. It is the most indebted country, as percent of GDP, by a long shot.

Japan had an early start on cell phones, then Apple and Google came in and completely took over. Their world leadership position in electronics, particularly RAM, flash, and displays, all fell and their core businesses there are now owned by Korea or the US. Japan never had a serious player on the Internet.

Japan is an example of what can go wrong.
All of that has nothing to do with the point that Japan is not “past manufacturing” and it’s not a developing third world country.
 
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