How Apple Could Navigate Trump's Tariffs, According to Gurman

[bradman83]

Jobs might have taken a stand, either for or against or painstakingly neutral. Jobs believed that technology should be private and politically neutral. He deeply understood the danger to both the tech industry and the world if our creative and work tools became spyware. There isn't anyone significant in tech with as much intellectual backbone and philosophical depth as Jobs now, except maybe Musk who is kind of a Joker to Jobs's Batman.

Jobs famously rebuffed Barack Obama when he asked what it would take to move iPhone production to the US by pointing out that the issues go beyond labor costs to labor skill and a lack of a skilled engineering talent pipeline in the US. Of course Barack Obama was also a very reasonable person who would take that feedback and try to address it via policy.

 

[bsolar]

Excuse me...I didn't vote for them nor did almost half of Americans. I hate when they say "the American people voted for this", like it was sort of unanimous decision. I hope everyone that DID vote for it, feels it.

You might hate it but you have to understand even though you as individual didn't vote for him, you still belong to the People of the United States of America which as group did elect him. As member of said group you share the responsibility of that group's decisions, even if you disagree with them.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

You might hate it but you have to understand even though you as individual didn't vote for him, you still belong to the People of the United States of America which as group did elect him. As member of said group you share the responsibility of that group's decisions, even if you disagree with them.

My bumper sticker disagrees with you.

But, as a person who thinks credit should be given where credit is due -- Thanks MAGA.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Do you ever get the feeling the writers of Lost are secretly controlling the government? No idea where the narrative is going, but getting people debating online all the same.

My wife thinks it's more like "The Handmaids Tale" writers.

 

[transmaster]

Apple already has an out. Foxconn is moving its operations to Vietnam. Already the Apple Watch is made in Vietnam, and production of the MacBook will start soon. Foxconn wants to withdraw from China completely but the CCP is making it complicated. They are having a problem with the Chinese government releasing manufacturing equipment being shipped to Vietnam. Vietnam has already proposed zero tariffs with the United States. Because Vietnam is becoming a hub for hi-tech manufacturing it will be a win for all sides. Vietnam is making out well from the top wages, for Vietnam, being paid by companies like Samsung, Foxconn, and others. There is also a geo-political aspect to this. Vietnam has been a deadly enemy of China for centuries. What better way to screw over the CCP than stripping them of companies like Canon, Samsung, Apple/Foxconn, etc. Vietnam will set a precedence for South East Asia. Other countries, like Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc will start circling China to see what they can pick out.

I wish more people had formal training in economics. This problem has been building for at least 40 years. It is not going to be fixed overnight, enormous amounts of money are involved, and countries are used to making large amounts of money from their tariffs on US goods. But largely unreported by the MSM over 50 countries are negotiating deals with the US. One thing that this administration wants is a reduction in the corporate tax rates. This alone would have a gigantic effect as international businesses move to the United States to take advantage of these lower taxes. The European Parliament would sound like a troop of enraged baboons as over-taxed companies move to the States. Just think how many US workers would get good-paying jobs.

 

[Rainbow Apple]

You might hate it but you have to understand even though you as individual didn't vote for him, you still belong to the People of the United States of America which as group did elect him. As member of said group you share the responsibility of that group's decisions, even if you disagree with them.

Oh, it's worse then that! I voted for Trump, because it's a two-party-system. If we had ranked-choice voting, if I could have voted against the tariffs without also voting for Harris, I would have gladly done so!

Now, I don't mean to start a general Trump vs Harris debate: That's not the point. I'm pointing out that the system, too often, forces us to chose between two bad options, and that there's a way to reform it to avoid that pitfall.

 

[bsolar]

I'm pointing out that the system, too often, forces us to chose between two bad options, and that there's a way to reform it to avoid that pitfall.

While I agree the two-party system is problematic you are talking like the system itself is not responsibility of the people.

 

[DocMultimedia]

And then again, by the end of the month, the tariffs situation could be resolved. We just don't know.

But the daily dose of US insanity might take many years to recover from since no one trusts America at this point. We will see. I just know I truly screwed myself keeping stocks after the 21st of January. A full blown recession is coming IMO.

 

[Rainbow Apple]

While I agree the two-party system is problematic you are talking like the system itself is not responsibility of the people.

Or like it's the people's responsibility to change it.

 

[Spock]

It looks like other countries are now trying to negotiate tariffs with the US. Vietnam for example is willing to bring down tariffs on US goods from 90% down to 0%. Unfortunately, looks like Trump is still not willing to accept the terms yet.

I am not supporting either political party

 

[cocky jeremy]

Freaking out over nothing. All of these countries are already running in begging to negotiate. This was the plan all along. Push for tariffs so other countries agree to drop their tariffs on US goods.

 

[bluecoast]

We are we all arguing here about how unfair Apple is being treated?

They constantly pick countries with low labour costs, low human and employment rights and long long hours to assemble their products.

Does that seem cool to everyone?

I’m minded to think of the Mitchell and Webb ‘are we the baddies?’ sketch with tim c as Webb, Craig f as Michell, both of them dressed in Apple logo baseball caps.

 

[bsolar]

Freaking out over nothing. All of these countries are already running in begging to negotiate. This was the plan all along. Push for tariffs so other countries agree to drop their tariffs on US goods.

Except in many cases there are no tariffs on US goods from those countries. Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" calculation does not even have tariffs as parameters, it's entirely based on trade deficit regardless of tariffs.

 

[ItsASpider]

Apple already has an out. Foxconn is moving its operations to Vietnam. Already the Apple Watch is made in Vietnam, and production of the MacBook will start soon. Foxconn wants to withdraw from China completely but the CCP is making it complicated. They are having a problem with the Chinese government releasing manufacturing equipment being shipped to Vietnam. Vietnam has already proposed zero tariffs with the United States. Because Vietnam is becoming a hub for hi-tech manufacturing it will be a win for all sides. Vietnam is making out well from the top wages, for Vietnam, being paid by companies like Samsung, Foxconn, and others. There is also a geo-political aspect to this. Vietnam has been a deadly enemy of China for centuries. What better way to screw over the CCP than stripping them of companies like Canon, Samsung, Apple/Foxconn, etc. Vietnam will set a precedence for South East Asia. Other countries, like Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc will start circling China to see what they can pick out.

I wish more people had formal training in economics. This problem has been building for at least 40 years. It is not going to be fixed overnight, enormous amounts of money are involved, and countries are used to making large amounts of money from their tariffs on US goods. But largely unreported by the MSM over 50 countries are negotiating deals with the US. One thing that this administration wants is a reduction in the corporate tax rates. This alone would have a gigantic effect as international businesses move to the United States to take advantage of these lower taxes. The European Parliament would sound like a troop of enraged baboons as over-taxed companies move to the States. Just think how many US workers would get good-paying jobs.

You are aware that Vietnam has been hit with one of the largest tariffs of all countries, right?

As for "largely unreported by the MSM over 50 countries are negotiating deals with the US". That's because that is actually just no true, or at the very least a very misleading statement. 27 of these countries are the EU. But that the EU is willing to negotiate over trade is nothing new, that's always been their stance and isn't of itself a response to these tariffs. They're also preparing tariffs of their own, targeting Trump and conservatives specifically.

And that is still completely ignoring that Trump and his administration continue to claim that these tariffs are non-negotiable. Trump is claiming they won't go away until the trade deficit has gone away. And I hope you understand that that's simply impossible to achieve (it also ignores that Trump is only counting goods, and not services for his "trade deficit", probably because that would actually put it in roughly a balance).

As for bringing manufacturing back to the US, that too is just never going to happen. Not only because of the money, but because it simply cannot be done. The pipeline isn't there, and even if it was, the workforce isn't there either.

 

[transmaster]

We are we all arguing here about how unfair Apple is being treated?

They constantly pick countries with low labour costs, low human and employment rights and long long hours to assemble their products.

Does that seem cool to everyone?

I’m minded to think of the Mitchell and Webb ‘are we the baddies?’ sketch with tim c as Webb, Craig f as Michell, both of them dressed in Apple logo baseball caps.

You don't follow the news much, do you?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Apple will grow its Texas presence with a new factory focusing on its Apple Intelligence system, as part of a $500 billion investment over four years, the company announced Monday.
Apple said the Houston factory will focus on building advanced technology and manufacturing servers for the Apple Intelligence system. The AI servers were previously built outside the U.S.
Apple said the 250,000-square-foot facility will open in 2026 and create thousands of jobs (reports are at least 20,000) The servers are designed to reduce energy demands from Apple data centers, which use renewable energy.
The company’s four-year investment plans include growing teams and facilities in Michigan, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina and Washington.

 

[transmaster]

You are aware that Vietnam has been hit with one of the largest tariffs of all countries, right?

As for "largely unreported by the MSM over 50 countries are negotiating deals with the US". That's because that is actually just no true, or at the very least a very misleading statement. 27 of these countries are the EU. But that the EU is willing to negotiate over trade is nothing new, that's always been their stance and isn't of itself a response to these tariffs. They're also preparing tariffs of their own, targeting Trump and conservatives specifically.

And that is still completely ignoring that Trump and his administration continue to claim that these tariffs are non-negotiable. Trump is claiming they won't go away until the trade deficit has gone away. And I hope you understand that that's simply impossible to achieve (it also ignores that Trump is only counting goods, and not services for his "trade deficit", probably because that would actually put it in roughly a balance).

As for bringing manufacturing back to the US, that too is just never going to happen. Not only because of the money, but because it simply cannot be done. The pipeline isn't there, and even if it was, the workforce isn't there either.

Bla-bla-bla, Did you know Apple is investing 500 Billion USD in Houston, which will put at least 20,000 people to work, I didn't think so.

 

[Expos of 1969]

You don't follow the news much, do you?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Apple will grow its Texas presence with a new factory focusing on its Apple Intelligence system, as part of a $500 billion investment over four years, the company announced Monday.
Apple said the Houston factory will focus on building advanced technology and manufacturing servers for the Apple Intelligence system. The AI servers were previously built outside the U.S.
Apple said the 250,000-square-foot facility will open in 2026 and create thousands of jobs (reports are at least 20,000) The servers are designed to reduce energy demands from Apple data centers, which use renewable energy.
The company’s four-year investment plans include growing teams and facilities in Michigan, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina and Washington.

This was announced in February. It may happen or perhaps not. Plans have a habit of changing once they have served their purpose.

 

[hagjohn]

No way Apple will lower the margins. Their stock already took a 33% hit at the time of me writing this. How low do you want them to be? Half what they used to be just a few months ago?

Apple will probably not have a choice but to give on both sides (margin and raising prices). If the US goes into a recession, we will probably see a slowdown in new tech on the higher level phones (even more than we have seen) and we will see more lower cost phones and less higher cost ones, coming down the pike, just to keep income coming in.

 

[bbeagle]

Freaking out over nothing. All of these countries are already running in begging to negotiate. This was the plan all along. Push for tariffs so other countries agree to drop their tariffs on US goods.

So was THAT the plan, or was it to bring manufacturing jobs back to America? Because both of those are conflicting.

 

[jicon]

One on one conversation with the chief, explain to him the back of the phone says 'Designed by Apple in California'*, couple praises of his golf game, and prompt for an exemption.

 

[foobarbaz]

Freaking out over nothing. All of these countries are already running in begging to negotiate. This was the plan all along. Push for tariffs so other countries agree to drop their tariffs on US goods.

Was anyone refusing to negotiate before? Did Trump make any offers or demands? He negotiated trade deals with Canada and Mexico himself and yet dumped tariffs on them.

If you think Trump's goal is free trade, please just take a closer look. He wants more manufacturing in the US. With high salaries that's simply not possible with 0% tariffs. Tariffs and protectionism are the goal.

If that's what you want, good. But don't support a policy because you hope it's a negotiating tactic. Even if it is, Trump is holding his own economy at gunpoint to negotiate.

 

[Gix1k]

Higher prices will lead to lower sales. Either way they will have take a hit. I don’t care about their share price.

Not according to Trump. Higher prices will lead to lower prices.

 

[DeepIn2U]

"Third, and perhaps most concerning for consumers, Apple could consider iPhone price adjustments."

It's not an adjustment. It's an increase. Apple is increasing its prices, due to a tax on imports, which the American people voted for.

Exactly.

Mark Gurman is now an economist?!

ROFLMAO! My god macrumors you're really cuddling le sac far too much lately. Seriously this article is reaching by quoting Gurman which shows weak editorial skills.

 

[bsolar]

If that's what you want, good. But don't support a policy because you hope it's a negotiating tactic. Even if it is, Trump is holding his own economy at gunpoint to negotiate.

To be fair that's the best position to make a bet: by using someone else's money...

 

[foobarbaz]

Higher prices will lead to lower sales. Either way they will have take a hit.

Lower sales are a given. Even if they don't lower prices, everything else will become more expensive. Heck, vague economic fears alone will probably lead people to delay purchases.

Anyway, we can kiss that bump to 256GB base storage goodbye, I think. If they keep prices, there will be a lot of decontenting.