Apple Watch Now Excluded From U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods

[MacRumors]

Apple in November asked the U.S. government to exclude the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, and iPhone components from tariffs on goods imported from China, and the Apple Watch has been exempted.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Trade Representative on Friday approved a tariff waiver for Apple's wrist worn device.

A 15 percent tariff on a long list of products imported from China went into effect on September 1, though it was halved on February 15 after an initial trade deal was established.

Apple said that the Apple Watch should be exempted because it is "it is not strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025' or other Chinese industrial programs." Apple also claimed that it was not able to find a source outside of China to meet demand for Apple Watch production in 2020.

Apple has also filed for waivers for AirPods, HomePod, iPhone components, and other products impacted by the tariffs.

Apple CEO Tim Cook in October said that he was hopeful the U.S. and China would resolve their trade issues. "I don't know every chapter of the book, but I think that will eventually happen," Cook said. "I certainly hope it happens during the quarter, but we'll see about that."

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Article Link: Apple Watch Now Excluded From U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods

 

[JPack]

Taking care of the important stuff.

Meanwhile, the 500 million N95 respirators on order are expected to take 18 months. Manufacturers in China aren’t able to fulfill the request due to face saving procurement requirements.

Trump’s 500 Million Respirators Could Take 18 Months to Deliver

The 500 million N95 air-filtering respirator masks President Donald Trump said the federal government ordered could take up to 18 months to be delivered, according to the grant application.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[RalfTheDog]

If you want an Apple Watch, just go outside and find a dead person in the street. Make sure to use lots of Lysol and watch out for zombies.

 

[G5isAlive]

COVID-19 is tossed in for free.

 

[kyleh22]

Hopefully apple passes along these savings to the customers....lol

 

[lkrupp]

Hopefully apple passes along these savings to the customers....lol

And why should you receive a discount because of Covid-19? An Watch is not a surgical mask or respirator is it?

 

[LizKat]

I keep looking at that watch with the pink strap and thinking it would serve as an amulet against the virus.

So... I must stop looking at it, and get back to keeping my social distance from even FedEx couriers.

 

[citysnaps]

Hopefully apple passes along these savings to the customers....lol

Nope. Apple has been absorbing the tariff hit on behalf of its customers. No need to pass anything on.

 

[satchmo]

The donation of 2 million masks probably didn't hurt Apple's case.

 

[developer13245]

Fact: A 25% import tariff on cell phones and laptops would have killed Apple. Apple’s existence relies on psycho price points and margins - F that up and Apple is dead.. Period! Tim Cook made a special trip to DC to whisper that fact into Trump’s ear. This is why we have a “phase one” trade deal, it saved Apple.

Apple’s existence completely depends on China in its current form, including all of the ‘unsightly’ malfeasance perpetrated by the CCP (slave labor, etc…) This is the dirty little secret that no one wants to accept. So while other business have been able to decouple from China, this will not be the case for Apple (and a few other very large/influential companies). This has created a dilemma for the US government. Will the US government allow the CCP to continue wrecking the USA just so Apple can prop up the US stock market? Or will the US government do its job to protect the country? The choice should be obvious, but there is too much money to be made by those in power, especially those like Tim Cook who admire how the CCP organizes Chinese society (and would welcome that in the USA).

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Taking care of the important stuff.

Meanwhile, the 500 million N95 respirators on order are expected to take 18 months. Manufacturers in China aren’t able to fulfill the request due to face saving procurement requirements.

Trump’s 500 Million Respirators Could Take 18 Months to Deliver

The 500 million N95 air-filtering respirator masks President Donald Trump said the federal government ordered could take up to 18 months to be delivered, according to the grant application.

www.bloomberg.com

This bizarre, especially since China is starting to see a mask surplus.

 

[kyleh22]

Nope. Apple has been absorbing the tariff hit on behalf of its customers. No need to pass anything on.

They haven't absorbed anything. originally when the tariff was in place, they just charged customers extra. Eliminating this tariff just increases their margins.

 

[citysnaps]

They haven't absorbed anything. originally when the tariff was in place, they just charged customers extra. Eliminating this tariff just increases their margins.

That's not true. Prices were not increased. You may not know Apple's GPMs have decreased over the last couple of years; imposed tariffs being a part of that.