Apple Watch, AirPods, and Other Apple Goods to Be Exempt From China Tariffs

[MacRumors]

The Apple Watch, AirPods, and some other Apple products will be exempted from a proposed $200 billion tariff on Chinese goods, reports Bloomberg.

An updated list of products affected by the tariffs is expected to be released today, and it will not include a product category that covers Apple Watch, AirPods, and other smart watches and fitness trackers. Five separate sources have confirmed to Bloomberg that the Trump administration will exempt many of Apple's products.

The product code covers wireless devices, and it was included on a preliminary list the administration released in July. Other Apple products under the code include the HomePod speaker, BeatsWL headphones, and AirPort and Time Capsule internet routers. The value of such imports from China is about $12 billion, according to one of the people.

A preliminary tariff list released earlier this year did include wireless devices like the AirPods and the Apple Watch, and Apple in early September said that several of its products would be affected.

Apple sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it not to apply the tariffs that would affect Apple products, asking the government to instead find "other, more effective" solutions. Apple said implementing the tariffs would lead to lower U.S. growth and competitiveness, along with higher prices for U.S. consumers.

Back in July, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the tariffs, saying that Apple was "optimistic" the issue would be sorted out, with the company hoping "calm heads prevail."

This fourth round of tariffs will cover $200 billion in Chinese goods and it joins several other tariffs that have already been put in place on products like steel, aluminum, and billions of dollars worth of goods.

Update: The new list of tariffs has been released and Apple's devices are indeed excluded.

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 Watch, AirPods, and Other Apple Goods to Be Exempt From China Tariffs

 

[Dormammu]

Yay!

 

[Asarien]

The hypocrisy knows zero bounds. Just make it all up as you go!

 

[CaptMarvel]

Interesting...what happened behind closed doors to make this happen?

 

[dannyyankou]

So the most valuable company will be exempt, but smaller companies will have to pay. Cool.

 

[mozumder]

But Trump will increase taxes on everything else, punishing the poor and the elderly on fixed-income the most, since they rely on commodity imported goods the most.

This is how Trump and the Republicans punish Americans - by raising prices for everything.

Trump will squeeze every last penny out of you!

 

[ayres]

you can’t get me to touch this even with a ten foot pole!

 

[twocents]

My concerns with the trade war are now resolved. Thanks Trump! /s

 

[mozumder]

Interesting...what happened behind closed doors to make this happen?

Trump probably figured out the raising taxes needs on highly visible products isn't a good look, so he's going to raise taxes on less visible products instead.

 

[patrickbarnes]

Interesting...what happened behind closed doors to make this happen?

$$$

 

[madKIR]

Interesting...what happened behind closed doors to make this happen?

promised backdoor access to iDevices LOL

 

[HarryKeogh]

Yay! No tariff on something I buy once every three years!

 

[Sora]

So does that mean we owe a ton of money to China because we are in a trade deficit with them?? Or is that money we lost?

/s

Stupidity is reaching critical levels. And intelligence is being overwhelmed.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Nothing a little lobbying can't fix by Apple. Wonder how much they had to pay out for this to happen.

 

[ksnell]

But Trump will increase taxes on everything else, punishing the poor and the elderly on fixed-income the most, since they rely on commodity imported goods the most.

This is how Trump and the Republicans punish Americans - by raising prices for everything.

Trump will squeeze every last penny out of you!

Protectionist policies are actually very much a left leaning view and something not many Republicans agree on (unless you count using increased tariffs as a means to end them).

If the goal is to use them as negotiating leverage to lower tariffs on both sides, I think it makes more sense.

 

[L-Viz]

So I guess only tariffs on mac minis, heh?

 

[diamornte]

Baby potus needs his gold iPhone Tennis Excess Max

 

[WannaGoMac]

Interesting...what happened behind closed doors to make this happen?

The usual hookers, blow, and suitcases of cash most likely

 

[Sora]

My concerns with the trade war are now resolved. Thanks Trump! /s

Meanwhile, middle of America is struggling because of tariffs.
https://fox6now.com/2018/06/26/larg...k-of-extinction-because-of-the-steel-tariffs/

 

[alphaswift]

What happened? A few choices:

(a) Tim promised Donald that he would build a factory
(b) Tim promised Donald that he'd get back door access to iPhones
(c) Tim promised Donald a board seat with stock options in 2020
(d) Tim showed Donald some pee-pee pictures taken on an iPhone.

I'm so hoping for (d)

 

[FNH15]

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite pleased by this, as it makes my Apple Watch 4 purchase cheaper, but this kind of exemption underscores just how absurd these protectionist, xenophobic trade policies really are...

 

[L-Viz]

Baby potus needs his gold iPhone Tennis Excess Max

Baby Potus needs bigger display and keyboard to avoid typos.

Covfefe.

 

[HarryWild]

President Trump doe not want to harm either U.S. consumers or Apple sales going forward. Nice move! China is also happy too, since 35% of worldwide iPhone sales are in the U.S.

 

[jonnysods]

I need to bury this article. Its how I convinced my wife to let me buy the AW4 this week instead of waiting a couple more months until I'd saved my pocket money

 

[Fortimir]

Meanwhile, middle of America is struggling because of tariffs.
https://fox6now.com/2018/06/26/larg...k-of-extinction-because-of-the-steel-tariffs/

I hope you noticed the little slash-s indicating he was being sarcastic.