Donald Trump Says Apple Won't Be Granted Tariff Relief on Mac Pro Parts Made in China: 'Make Them in The USA, No Tariffs!'

[JGIGS]

The infrastructure to build in the US simply doesn't exist.

The other part is the labour cost vs China etc. then raises the retail on products which people cant afford since wages don't change in North America enough to deal with that type of inflation. It's a vicious circle which is all started by wage differences but hard to fix. Really I guess first world people just need to have less stuff in there lives.

 

[aaronhead14]

This is bad. Apple needs every reason to profit from the Mac Pro as much as possible, because it’s Apple’s most important product. Pros don’t want to see another Mac Pro that doesn’t get updated due to poor profits. We can’t have another trashcan situation. We need this to be a product that’s successful and therefore gets updated regularly.

 

[dms_91]

Trump is a clown.

Having said that -- good. Keep the jobs in America. Pay American wages. Operate under American labor / safety laws. Abide by American environmental regulations.

Trump is NOT a clown.

 

[Rogifan]

Trump is NOT a clown.

No he’s a #moron.

 

[Millah]

Hey Apple makes billions and pays almost no taxes. They can afford to make things here in America

Pays almost no taxes? According to who, “alternative facts?” Because I believe Apple is the largest tax payer in America today.

Next time you’re filing your taxes, go ahead and get rid of your deductions and other things tax pros do to minimize your taxes. You can afford it right? You have an Apple computer, that means you can afford it.

Oh wait, that’s not how it works? Then why should it work any differently for Apple?

It’s also not about cost, and mostly to do with logistics and procurement. Final assembly is literally only a fraction of the manufacturing operations. I can imagine the parts list/BOM on Apple products being quite extensive, and each of those part numbers have their own manufacturing operation and sub-assemblies. As someone who works in manufacturing, even sub-contracting relatively pedestrian sub-assembly operations to subcontractors in different states, let alone different countries, adds an enormous amount of friction into the process. I bet the Texas Mac Pro operation was a logistical nightmare to manage.

Americans stopped caring about manufacturing a long time ago. I see it first hand. They only care when it comes to politics.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

For once, Donald and I see eye to eye on something.

 

[Bug-Creator]

Apple had chances to build and service them in USA but they went with fancy campuses and stores

Which employ x1000 the people needed to build a few mPros.....

 

[zorinlynx]

Let me make this clear; I despise Trump.

But I actually agree with this. Apple should be making more products in the US, especially low volume big ticket items like the Mac Pro.

And for those people saying that we don't have the manufacturing capacity... let's BUILD IT then! Surely we are capable. How can you have so little faith in the ability of our country to get things done?

 

[kasakka]

This must be the only thing I can agree with Trump. If the most valuable company in the world cannot start making their hardware in the US then why the hell should they be exempt from tariffs?

I am not even American so this is of no importance to me either way but it just seems stupid that tariffs would not apply to a huge company but everyone else.

 

[konqerror]

Economically, Tariffs usually aren’t the best way of going about things.

Is this going to bring back jobs to America, probably not.

Disagree. We've had a 25% tariff on "light trucks" (70% of the US automobile market) for 55 years. Works wonderfully. 2/3 of US sold Hondas are built here, 56% of Toyotas (87% inside NAFTA). The US supply chain has been maintained. There's US sheet metal companies, Toyota transmission plants, know somebody who works at a head gasket plant, you can go to the University of Michigan to study automotive engineering and manufacturing...

The strong and consistently applied automobile tariff kept automobile manufacturing alive. We made our electronics here in the US until Clinton let it slip to China in the 1990s.

 

[dontwalkhand]

With the Mac Pro your 500% profit margin is now a 475% profit margin with the tariff.

 

[aaronhead14]

The dozens of people who were going to buy this are disappointed.

i predict Apple will $ell (3) units anyways.

And no one will be able to afford the products except the super rich

It seems you guys don’t understand that this is a product that millions of filmmakers and content creators around the world have wanted for the last 6 years. Have you ever sat down and read the credits at the end of a movie? Lots of names, right? Every one of those people wants this computer. You’re massively underestimating the amount of people who are excited for the Mac Pro.

Just because it’s not intended for you doesn’t mean it lacks a target market. This thing’s going to sell like crazy.

 

[anthogag]

Apple is a US business, it definitely should make its top computer in the US (or in Canada is better).

The excuse the ‘infrastructure is not here’ is a cry-baby excuse. Make or re-develop the infrastructure here.

Too many NA businesses are, at the end of the day, transferring too much technology to China while China’s antiquated communist government is proving to be antagonistic towards the West. China’s communist government has no plans to ‘join the West’.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

The price already includes the tariffs! This was Apple just trying its luck

 

[MisterSavage]

I wonder how many people who are complaining currently about the high prices of iPhones are also saying Apple should go the much more expensive route of making them here?

 

[hawkeye_a]

Gee, i wonder if Tim Apple's heavy reliance on offshoring and tax havens might have repercussions? I wonder if his foray into political commentary as CEO might be a bad idea as well(even though it does highlight hypocrisy)?(can be said on any silly valley CEO these days)

No more special "privilege" and loopholes is a good thing. IMHO

Needs to be said: A Republican President who is championing working-class jobs (something the dems used to do). How about that?

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

The infrastructure to build in the US simply doesn't exist.

INCORRECT

One example: Mississippi got a Toyota Corolla factory finished and operating ten years ago. Mississippi, arguably the poorest state in the union.

Also a Mac Pro is much less complicated to assemble than a complete automobile.

 

[supercoolmanchu]

What a joke Mr Cook has become

Until Cook turns this around and negotiates a sweetheart deal to keep/add jobs to existing US Mac Pro production.

Likely Trump will back this, and use his leverage to make it happen, because it gets him more jobs numbers, which is something presidents always advertise.

Trump can’t lose on this, and long term, neither can Cook.

 

[macfacts]

Lots of people on both sides but I haven't heard a good reason to not apply the tariffs on apple.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Gee, i wonder if Tim Apple's heavy reliance on offshoring and tax havens might have repercussions? I wonder if his foray into political commentary as CEO might be a bad idea as well?

No more special "privilege" and loopholes is a good thing. IMHO

Needs to be said: A Republican President who is championing working-class jobs (something the dems used to do). How about that?

Look at the whole Ireland thing with Apple. Though I love Apple’s products they should be leading the way and this computer was expensive enough to manufacture it in America and still be just fine.

 

[inhalexhale1]

So why would Tim Cook try to get an exemption? Greed.

Margins are clearly not high enough.

 

[dontwalkhand]

The price already includes the tariffs! This was Apple just trying its luck

With the price of the monitor stand alone I’m sure it covers 500 tariffs.

 

[LordVic]

Maybe I just don't understand politics, but it's amazing how many fellow leftists are against the idea of government intervention that encourages manufacturing jobs in a country with better wages and worker rights.

It's amazing how many righties are totally cool with the gov't inhibiting the free market by imposing tariffs. Are we all just inconsistent bastards?

it's almost as if the Democrats have shifted "right" to be the party of big business and open trade, and the Republicans have shifted further towards authoritarian regimes who dictate/mandate free market behaviour

American politics is on the crazy train and there aint no getting off.

 

[johnnygee]

1. It’s a niche product at best, so it will have no effect on the economy.
2. Who builds computers from scratch in the US?

More demagoguery...

 

[GIZBUG]

Continuing to Make America a great again!