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

[GregJohn]

Trump is doing what he said (shocking that a politician would do such a thing!) Apple brought their money back, invested and have plans/changed up manufacturing so they do not get punished for doing the right thing.
I applaud Trump for this actually

 

[mozumder]

And Apple doesn’t with their pricing? Just stop

You should stop conflating private goods and services with government.

 

[iMi]

You've got to love the Republican logic. Offering subsidies for education or healthcare is a government intrusion into free market. Selectively choosing to support a specific corporation, essentially giving it an advantage over just about everyone else, is not. Subsidizing soybean growers to alleviate the impact these tariffs have on them is totally fine -- because they are largely Republican voter base -- but funding Planned Parenthood is government intrusion.

This is getting old...

 

[tallscot]

That's a Gen 6 plant when the world is building Gen 10.5 plants.

It's an LCD fab when the world is moving to OLED.

Wisconsin provided a $4.5B subsidy for this $10 billion project.

Pick any one of the three to understand why it's a show and tell piece rather than a real business plan.

Again, why can't the USA build an OLED plant?

 

[sirozha]

I hate to say this, as I own too much AAPL. However, Trump promised tariffs on China 2 years ago when he was still running for president. After the first six months of his administration, it became painfully clear that he was going to keep his campaign promises. Trump met with Cook a year ago and told him to start building factories in the US. Cook had at least a year worth of forward warning that the tarifs were coming. What did Cook do? Absolutely nothing.

If Cook took Trumps warning seriously, robotic assembly factories would be nearing completion right about now and Apple coould start moving manufacturing to the US by the end of this year.

If this tariff sinks my multi-million dollar AAPL portfolio, the only person to blame here is Cook, who was completely asleep at the wheel. This is dereliction of duty to shareholders.

 

[Brandhouse]

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.

Protectionist policies? When most developed countries, including the US, import much more into China than they export to China then this stupid war by Trump not only hurts you lot in the US, it affects the rest of the world.

 

[DVD9]

So that means that the most expensive categories, iPhones, iPads, and Macs , are about to become even more exorbitantly expensive than they are...
Looking forward to the 2000$ iPhone XS and the 3000$ Macbook Air...

Well, good luck getting to the bottom of this. I went looking earlier and the business press in the USA is either extraordinarily incompetent or the business press is now fake news as well.

I don't know what if anything from Apple is or will be tariffed by the USA. There are articles saying it is China who will tax Apple by hitting their suppliers shipping into China in retaliation for Trump tariffs, making it sound in reverse of Trump putting tariffs on Apple.

The only thing I gleaned that seems clean is if the next round of tariffs raising the total to $500 billion is put into effect in the future then Apple would not be spared because that would amount to everything, a blanket tariff on China.

However, I wouldn't bet anything on that being accurate. The "news" is definitely fake. Apparently the business press was only spared that outcome while it was not mainstream in the past.

 

[sirozha]

Protectionist policies? When most developed countries, including the US, import much more into China than they export to China then this stupid war by Trump not only hurts you lot in the US, it affects the rest of the world.

That is wrong. There’s a $650 billion of US trade inbalance with China, which means the US imports from China are $650 billion more in goods than China imports from the US. If Trump goes ahead with applying tariffs to another $250 billion worth of Chinese exports to the US, China won’t be able to retaliate in full anymore because they will have run out of US made products they import to impose tariffs on.

Political allegiances aside, it’s Trump’s prerogative as President to start a trade war through an imposition of tariffs. He promised it, and he is doing it. No one can accuse Trump of giving out empty promises while campaigning. He is actually the only president in my memory who has meticulously followed up on his campaign promises. Whose fault is it that Apple is caught unawares? Did Cook not have a very long advance notice to get ready for this?

 

[Lacasse]

Canadian Tariffs are imposed due to the US subsidies that are propping up your industries. Bailouts, grants, etc etc. Subsidies to farmers, additional subsidies to processors...you know how it goes.

If the US government put all those subsidies appropriations into a universal health care system, and better supports for your citizens...and, if corporations actually charged what the actual cost for their goods actually cost (non subsidized) then...no country would have to impose tariffs on US goods. Your economy fundamentally fubarred.

Just curious why so many people on the Left have no problem with other countries putting levies on our products (Canada, EU, China...) but throw a fit when we RETALIATE to try to make it fair. You know, "fair", the Left's most favorite word. Like "fair wages".

Is it that you have no clue what a trade deficit is? Like the ~$12.5 billion trade deficit we have with Canada, for example. $376 billion with China, approximately. $70 billion with Mexico?

All of them put tariffs on our goods. Do you not understand that? Heck, in China, U.S. companies can't even own the plants. They have to get into a "partnership" with a state-owned company who then steals all of the intellectual property.

The fact that Apple gets a pass is typical politics. Those with $ are treated differently than everyone else. That's why Obama gave exemptions to donors on Obamacare (it's why there was no public option). All politicians do it.

The profit margin on a $1,000 iPhone is what? About 40-50%? Is it more? They should be building those phones in the USA. The middle class has been decimated the last 20 years by both political parties. Trump won Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania because he was the ONLY guy (besides Bernie Sanders) who wanted to protect the American middle-class.

The point here is if one country is screwing U.S. business owners over by putting duties on their products to protect their own companies (like Canada with dairy farmers), than the USA should retaliate and not bend over and take it up the butt.

All of you Trump haters need to remember that Bernie Sanders ran on the same issue! LOL. So if Hillary hadn't rigged the Democratic primary against Bernie, and Bernie was the Democratic Party candidate and won (he would have against Trump), you would all be praising him for protecting the American working class right now with the same policies. Stop being a partisan cult member. Think for yourself. Debate the policies.

 

[omihek]

Apple said implementing the tariffs would lead to lower U.S. growth and competitiveness, along with higher prices for U.S. consumers.

This is the part I have a problem with. Looking past all the love/hate for Trump's administration, I find it kind of insulting that Tim and Apple automatically jump to "if we have to pay more, so do you." Apple is the most valuable company in the world because of their customers. They have hundreds of billions of dollars cash at their disposal. Yet they don't even consider for one second the option of just taking one for the team. Inflation, higher taxes, tariffs, etc. all eventually trickle down to the little guy because the big rich guys like Tim need even more money for some reason.

With all that said, no one is forcing any of us to buy Apple products, and if the customers ever came together to boycott one of Apple's products (like a $1500 phone for example), Apple would do a 180 on their pricing structure faster than you could say "courage."

 

[btrach144]

Checked the price of gasoline since 2017 January?

The price for such an elite system with the advanced ECG system and bigger face is worth the increase - though I'd prefer that Apple reduced the price of the watches by about $150 across the board.

Waiting for an October surprise.

Well then maybe apple should delay charging the additional $70 for the ECG feature because it won't even be available at launch.

 

[KPandian1]

Well then maybe apple should delay charging the additional $70 for the ECG feature because it won't even be available at launch.

Yes; I'd just delay buying the Apple Watch until the ECG feature is fully available and working well in real life conditions.

 

[Blackstick]

This is the thing about poor people...they believe billionaires do things like this for pocket change like the stock price of AAPL. Not a fan of tariffs (although I might be coming around as a negotiating technique) but the idea the motivations are something this silly shows a paucity of imagination and a narrow world view.

Oh look, a condescending person who knows as little as I do. Unless you’d like to flash your billionaire card.

Bottom line, there’s a lot of very rich people in very high places that kindly told Trump how this is going to work.

 

[BuddyTronic]

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

Well, Apple repatriated Billions of dollars at a better tax rate thanks to Trump and Tim Cook. It would be a bit unfair for Trump to now hit Apple with Tarrifs - particularly when Apple is investing in America.

 

[B's iPhone]

As others have worded way better than I can, Trump campaigned on making trade between the US and other counties fair.
Tariffs on things we import are no different than what the Chinese people pay for our products. Of course there’s some “wiggle room” when it comes to negotiating but fair is fair. We’ve taken a beating for a long time when it comes to trade. I’m glad to see a president whether Republican or Democrat stand up and say enough is enough. I’m not saying this is an end all be all but I am glad someone is trying to get the US a fair deal.

 

[rols]

Yes; I'd just delay buying the Apple Watch until the ECG feature is fully available and working well in real life conditions.

and available outside the USA. I'm still waiting for visual voicemail here, I have little expectation the ECG feature will ever be enabled in watches sold in most countries.

 

[Brandhouse]

That is wrong. There’s a $650 billion of US trade inbalance with China, which means the US imports from China are $650 billion more in goods than China imports from the US. If Trump goes ahead with applying tariffs to another $250 billion worth of Chinese exports to the US, China won’t be able to retaliate in full anymore because they will have run out of US made products they import to impose tariffs on.

Political allegiances aside, it’s Trump’s prerogative as President to start a trade war through an imposition of tariffs. He promised it, and he is doing it. No one can accuse Trump of giving out empty promises while campaigning. He is actually the only president in my memory who has meticulously followed up on his campaign promises. Whose fault is it that Apple is caught unawares? Did Cook not have a very long advance notice to get ready for this?

Except your di&%he@# president is playing with things that go beyond US borders.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Yay!

Only beneficial to US citizens those of us north of the 49th parallel will still get some shafting

 

[sirozha]

Except your di&%he@# president is playing with things that go beyond US borders.

He is our president. Deal with your own country’s problems and don’t blame others for your own problems.

 

[Brandhouse]

He is our president. Deal with your own country’s problems and don’t blame others for your own problems.

So you think trade wars only affect your own backyard?

 

[acorntoy]

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

Apple has relatively been playing ball with the current administration, including going to dinner discussions and (probably more importantly) right after trumps tax cut Apple released a massive news statement stating they were planning on bringing millions back to the U.S.

Not very surprising that the administration will cut them some slack.

 

[pratikindia]

US should not have excluded Apple from tariffs. Apple has too much dependency on China. They will be punished sooner or later by China or US.

 

[Black Tiger]

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

American customers pay, not the companies. Cost is passed on to the consumer. It is essentially a Trump tax on the American public.

 

[peterdevries]

You've got to love the Republican logic. Offering subsidies for education or healthcare is a government intrusion into free market. Selectively choosing to support a specific corporation, essentially giving it an advantage over just about everyone else, is not. Subsidizing soybean growers to alleviate the impact these tariffs have on them is totally fine -- because they are largely Republican voter base -- but funding Planned Parenthood is government intrusion.

This is getting old...

It would be funny and interesting if it were a TV show. But what is currently happening is far from funny and actually dangerous in many ways.

 

[BvizioN]

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

Would you rather have the cost of this on the top of what you pay for a product? Because you know for sure, it won't be covered by Apple either way. They will just slap it on the top of the final price and for sure thing I would be doing the same if I was running a business.
I'm glad this is not effecting UK, though we pay crazy import taxes anyway.