iPhones Could Cost Up to $2,300 in the U.S. Due to Tariffs, Analyst Says

[bgillander]

That's true for Canada, but not every country. In Eastern Europe, USA's popularity was at peak after the fall of communism, maybe up until 2008. BLM, wokeness, and especially how they tried to export it hurt a lot already, democrats seemingly going full retard marxist didn't fly well in ex-communist countries. Of course this wasn't noticed in a country who elected Trudeau.

Then Trump came, and it became obvious, that it's both sides that went crazy. Jumping from one extreme to the another every four years hurts across the whole political spectrum. His closeness to Putin especially eroded US's reputation here. The real shift now is how it became accepted and mainstream to bash the US, but not at all only for things Trump does. I guess I don't have to elaborate on the stereotype of the average American on the other side of the pond.

Thinking of an Eastern European referring to the Democratic Party as Marxist has got to be one of the weirdest things I’ve heard, but so is feeling BLM was somehow exported. I wonder how you would tariff that. It feels like Orwell was out by about four decades.

 

[Cervisia]

Thinking of an Eastern European referring to the Democratic Party as Marxist has got to be one of the weirdest things I’ve heard

Luckily I did not write that, but talked about how it seemed based on the limited news that reached the average person here.

but so is feeling BLM was somehow exported. I wonder how you would tariff that. It feels like Orwell was out by about four decades.

BLM was a 100% exported. There were huge blm protests in London, vandalised Churchill's statue among others, and the English football teams still kneeled even when Americans forgot about that, making them the butt of jokes wherever they went (see picture). Not to mention the low quality propaganda crap that came out from Hollywood and streaming sites. People really got fed up by that, we don't care that much about your stupid internal problems, thank you.

 

[jntdroid]

If it is true that “Numbers are numbers regardless of how you come up with them”, then no one here would complain if the iPhone really does end up costing $2300, or even more, because what does it matter what the number is, then.

I didn't mean to imply that numbers weren't impactful. I simply meant that he wanted some reciprocal numbers that, based on his thoughts, weren't fully reciprocal. Does the way he came up with them matter that much? (more on this below, though)

Maybe I read the formula wrong, but I was under the impression that they are not reciprocal because they have nothing to do with whether the other country actually charges a tariff (in which case an actual reciprocal tariff would be to apply a tariff matching that tariff), but just whether the country sells more products to the USA than it buys from the USA.

You're not too far off based on what I've been reading. His tariffs aren't reciprocal by definition because Trump, or whoever came up with it, isn't just factoring in other countries' import taxes - they're figuring in (whether loosely or based on some specific numbers we aren't seeing) other things that prohibit a balanced trade deficit like currency manipulation and other "malicious trade practices" and trade barriers that don't fall under the specific tariff umbrella. That's where things get a little more vague and feel a little more subjective and hard to understand.

 

[DownUnderDan]

I know you’re trying to be smart but egg prices have actually dropped $2/dozen

Well the incoming global recession was worth it then.

 

[DownUnderDan]

Egg prices are down. You just hate Trump.

To be fair thats kind of a "Earth One" position on Trump. Putin exempted of course.

 

[TgeekB]

To be fair thats kind of a "Earth One" position on Trump. Putin exempted of course.

He’s been suspended.

 

[It’s always something]

His tariffs aren't reciprocal by definition because Trump, or whoever came up with it, isn't just factoring in other countries' import taxes - they're figuring in (whether loosely or based on some specific numbers we aren't seeing) other things that prohibit a balanced trade deficit like currency manipulation and other "malicious trade practices" and trade barriers that don't fall under the specific tariff umbrella. That's where things get a little more vague and feel a little more subjective and hard to understand.

This is incorrect.

The President’s tariff rates are based upon simple long division of trade deficit by imports. They have nothing to do with “currency manipulation” (what currency manipulation could Lesotho even do?) or anything else. In short, the numbers are meaningless and arbitrarily vicious, aside from being totally unvetted (come on, he’s targeting penguins! Did no one even bother to read this junk before going public with it?)

 

[Pezimak]

Pezimak, I will be charitable and suggest that you are a little confused, rather than you intentionally and brazenly lying in putting forth something that is instantly disproven in a few clicks. Go back to the post you replied to by Willis and you will see no mention of the UK government. You will see that you were the one who brought it up first.

You are not entitled to your own made up version of reality. While you are at it, I would suggest you read up on the 2022 fiscal event in the UK because you are putting forward a far-right conspiracy theory.

You seem to me as a person who cannot handle others having a different opinion to your own. I am not putting forward any 'conspiracy', I have seen facts you choose to ignore for what ever reasons that are unique to you. You are entitled to your opinion though.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some say Trump has introduced these tariffs as some kind of bargaining tactic? Maybe, but the way he has gone about it all it pretty reckless.

 

[bgillander]

Luckily I did not write that, but talked about how it seemed based on the limited news that reached the average person here.


BLM was a 100% exported. There were huge blm protests in London, vandalised Churchill's statue among others, and the English football teams still kneeled even when Americans forgot about that, making them the butt of jokes wherever they went (see picture). Not to mention the low quality propaganda crap that came out from Hollywood and streaming sites. People really got fed up by that, we don't care that much about your stupid internal problems, thank you.

View attachment 2500011

As you said Leicester City is not American. If a number of footballers want to follow the example of Colin Kaepernick, saying that is a "US export" is a huge stretch, considering the fact the NFL won't even employ the guy after his (inverted) stand. If anything, even your observations would indicate this as a UK trend, more than American. The photo above, however, actually shows that the issue is far from being an internal problem to the USA.

I didn't even mention "wokeness" because I won't disagree that Disney does have the potential to "export" ideology, and even I had an issue with the "Avengers Endgame" lined-up girl-power scene, but only because it was so poorly choreographed as to be klunky in its heavy handedness. That said, those people complaining about white male superhero jobs being stolen are simply silly and not actual comic book fans, as I was reading Ms Marvel, Black Panther, and Falcon comics in the 1970s. Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, and Black Canary date from the 1940s, and there are an infinite number of imaginary superhero jobs available. This is not a sudden, new trend, and wanting every superhero character to just be a white male is simply a strange mindset, and one that shows that Disney isn't the issue.

 

[jntdroid]

This is incorrect.

The President’s tariff rates are based upon simple long division of trade deficit by imports. They have nothing to do with “currency manipulation” (what currency manipulation could Lesotho even do?) or anything else. In short, the numbers are meaningless and arbitrarily vicious, aside from being totally unvetted (come on, he’s targeting penguins! Did no one even bother to read this junk before going public with it?)

I wasn’t saying the numbers were based on that. I was trying to say they’re using those other “unseen” items (like currency manipulation and other trade barriers) as an excuse to make these tariffs what they are. They knew they weren’t truly reciprocal, so they throw in more vague concepts in addition to actual import tariffs to come up with an excuse to have a tariff that’s actually higher than what a true reciprocal tariff on imports would be.

I’m not communicating it well. But the gist of it is this (from the Trump admins perspective):

“We think this foreign country is unfairly taxing imports from us. We need to tax them as well. But matching just their import tax isn’t high enough or loud enough for us.”

“Hey aren’t they also doing this other stuff that we can keep vague and ambiguous and use an excuse to go higher?”

“Oh yeah, but how would we calculate that??”

“There’s not really a way, but we could do this other calculation which would get us higher, sound reasonable to someone not really digging too deep, and voila!”

That’s what I’m trying to say might be happening.

Sidenote: obviously penguins don’t, but some countries absolutely use non-tariff tools like currency manipulation - it’s been going on forever, it’s just harder for the public to understand and see.

 

[CapitalIdea]

Just curious…..did this labor secretary give a satisfying answer? If so, what was it?

Of course not. It was one of those “look, the point is everything is going to be great!” non-answers because she knew she had nothing.

 

[CapitalIdea]

Any idea where that was? Would love to see that interview.

I think maybe it was CNBC? Might have been Fox business though or even Bloomberg. She was on a tour one after another. Similar to how Howard Lutnick did the weekend shows and vomited up this gem:

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)

Lutnick: "The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones -- that kind of thing is going to come to America."

bsky.app

 

[AppliedMicro]

Similar to how Howard Lutnick did the weekend shows and vomited up this gem:

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)

Lutnick: "The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones -- that kind of thing is going to come to America."

bsky.app

and (quote): “…it’s gonna be automated”

 

[AppliedMicro]

But the gist of it is this (from the Trump admins perspective):

“We think this foreign country is unfairly taxing imports from us.

They don’t.

If you asked them, how Lesotho is unfairly taxing U.S. import U.S., they couldn’t tell and explain it to you. As Trump said: nobody has heard of the place. Neither could they explain including uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands in their tariffs.

They just want to “fix the trade deficit”.

And “Oh they must be unfairly taxing our imports” is the justification they came up with - along with the made-up explanation of currency manipulation and other unspecified barriers.

 

[Ruggy]

I know you’re trying to be smart but egg prices have actually dropped $2/dozen

But isn't that because the bird flu is being dealt with, not because of economic policy?
The number of cases has dropped by about 10 million in the last month and a bit, so there are a lot more eggs around.

 

[MacFarmer]

so the new iPhone SE will not be such a bad proposition

 

[Cervisia]

As you said Leicester City is not American. If a number of footballers want to follow the example of Colin Kaepernick, saying that is a "US export" is a huge stretch, considering the fact the NFL won't even employ the guy after his (inverted) stand. If anything, even your observations would indicate this as a UK trend, more than American.

BLM started in the US, then appeared in Europe. Calling it export is not a "huge stretch", but the literal definition of it. While I personally agree that this was more of a UK thing than USA, I remind you again that we are talking about the perception of the average people.

The photo above, however, actually shows that the issue is far from being an internal problem to the USA.

Are you trying to spin it like everyone who didn't like a US thing forced on them (again, perception) is racists? See, that's part of the problem.

I didn't even mention "wokeness" because I won't disagree that Disney does have the potential to "export" ideology, and even I had an issue with the "Avengers Endgame" lined-up girl-power scene, but only because it was so poorly choreographed as to be klunky in its heavy handedness. That said, those people complaining about white male superhero jobs being stolen are simply silly and not actual comic book fans, as I was reading Ms Marvel, Black Panther, and Falcon comics in the 1970s. Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, and Black Canary date from the 1940s, and there are an infinite number of imaginary superhero jobs available. This is not a sudden, new trend, and wanting every superhero character to just be a white male is simply a strange mindset, and one that shows that Disney isn't the issue.

I never saw Avengers Endgame, nor ever heard about half the characters you've mentioned. Comic books were not a thing here before the movies started. The issue is rewriting history and European literary works. Or even blatantly changing current events to accommodate their needs, like Jack Ryan's second season depicting the Venezuelan dictatorship as a far-right one, just not to say anything bad about Hollywood's beloved socialists.

 

[Dutch60]

Thinking of an Eastern European referring to the Democratic Party as Marxist has got to be one of the weirdest things I’ve heard

I consider the Democratic Party as a middle- or right wing party…..and the Republican Party as far right (dangerously extreme right even).
Saying that as a (Western) European.
Thinking of the Democratic Party as Marxist is downright ridiculous.

, but so is feeling BLM was somehow exported. I wonder how you would tariff that. It feels like Orwell was out by about four decades.

 

[bgillander]

BLM started in the US, then appeared in Europe. Calling it export is not a "huge stretch", but the literal definition of it. While I personally agree that this was more of a UK thing than USA, I remind you again that we are talking about the perception of the average people.

Well, the problem then is that we are now arguing the perceptions of perceptions. My issue with calling it a "US export" is that it isn't like there is a universal support for it in America, especially now. If anything, given the current US state, it seems more to me like a "US banishment" to you, more than an export. But again, perception, as you would say.

Are you trying to spin it like everyone who didn't like a US thing forced on them (again, perception) is racists? See, that's part of the problem.

I guess my spin is that mocking people for showing support for a movement that basically started out as "black people should be able to survive an arrest" doesn't exactly show that wonderful universal unity that some are arguing we have reached which makes any such protest unnecessary. I won't disagree that that movement's message may have mutated over time into something different, but having watched the video of George Floyd's arrest, I can understand how the initial sentiment started. You are lucky that nothing like that happens in your area.

I never saw Avengers Endgame, nor ever heard about half the characters you've mentioned. Comic books were not a thing here before the movies started. The issue is rewriting history and European literary works. Or even blatantly changing current events to accommodate their needs, like Jack Ryan's second season depicting the Venezuelan dictatorship as a far-right one, just not to say anything bad about Hollywood's beloved socialists.

I never watched Jack Ryan, so I guess we are even. I wouldn't consider Jack Ryan a documentary, though, and we are lucky if even documentaries get basic facts correct these days, so it isn't like I am shocked that they would get something wrong.

Honestly, to tie this back to the original article we are commenting on, the reality of the "inaccuracies" from the executive branch about these tariffs and the limited pushback from the news (and congress) have me far more worried than some left leaning fantasies of Hollywood.

Edit: And if your perception that some UK footballers kneeling is somehow the US forcing you to do something, try to wrap your head around the president of the United States saying your country should be a state and they intended to make that happen. That is the crap that Greenland, Canada, and Panama currently have to deal with. Sorry if our perception is that your having to put up with a few guys kneeling doesn't seem like the US is really imposing that much on you, comparatively.

 

[Dutch60]

BLM started in the US, then appeared in Europe.

Yes, sometimes very positive things come from the USA. Unfortunately not so many since the great orange leader has appeared om stage.

Calling it export is not a "huge stretch", but the literal definition of it. While I personally agree that this was more of a UK thing than USA, I remind you again that we are talking about the perception of the average people.

Are you trying to spin it like everyone who didn't like a US thing forced on them (again, perception) is racists? See, that's part of the problem.

I never saw Avengers Endgame, nor ever heard about half the characters you've mentioned. Comic books were not a thing here before the movies started. The issue is rewriting history and European literary works. Or even blatantly changing current events to accommodate their needs, like Jack Ryan's second season depicting the Venezuelan dictatorship as a far-right one, just not to say anything bad about Hollywood's beloved socialists.

 

[dysamoria]

If you are truly in poverty, I would suggest you concentrate on getting out of poverty before you start to worry about getting any new tech. This is coming from a person that had trouble putting food on my own table for several months decades ago after losing my job, during a period that I believe still didn't technically qualify me as "in poverty".

Otherwise, you really should consider just getting a base M4 mini. Unless you are in a business getting well paid by the hour for output you create with it, the difference in speed of a Mac Studio shouldn't be worth the extra cost to most personal users, let alone someone that considers themseves even close to poverty. Since Apple made it nearly impossible to upgrade their computers after purchase I now usually buy the lowest model, rather than the mid to high-end models I used to purchase and upgrade myself for years after, and I have used the (fairly substantial) savings to just upgrade to another base model much sooner. My luck tends to mean I time my purchases poorly, even with the buying guides here, so the lower end purchases have also reduced my inevitable feelings of buyer's remorse, and your post does make it sound like that is potentially an issue to you. Good luck.

I’m almost 50, with employer-derived disability, in a bad job market (and location) for anything I’ve ever been skilled at (it’s getting bad even for people with skills I can’t acquire). I probably won’t be getting out of poverty, and am worried the oligarchs will eliminate my disability support (I depend on the LIHEAP program they just decimated).

I’m an example of the “downward mobility” trend (being worse off than one’s parents), having gone from middle-class (various tech/education jobs) to this. Working hard, with a good work ethic, was punished.

Any chance I have of staying relevant and sane means continuing to fund computer skills/hobbies, and that’s always been expensive (art/music). I’ve repeatedly learned to avoid the cheapest option or “stopgaps” when buying, due to shorter usability periods of lower-end or older hardware (I’ve done two used iMacs as cheaper stopgaps, but that was poor use of money over the last 6 years).

I won’t consider a Mini because of thermals (historically an issue of self-destructing hardware, especially as I use stuff years longer than corpos want us to before replacement). I used to aim for a Mac Pro, but that turned into madness. What am I saying— all tech is various types of madness anymore.

 

[bgillander]

I’m almost 50, with employer-derived disability, in a bad job market (and location) for anything I’ve ever been skilled at (it’s getting bad even for people with skills I can’t acquire). I probably won’t be getting out of poverty, and am worried the oligarchs will eliminate my disability support (I depend on the LIHEAP program they just decimated).

I’m an example of the “downward mobility” trend (being worse off than one’s parents), having gone from middle-class (various tech/education jobs) to this. Working hard, with a good work ethic, was punished.

Any chance I have of staying relevant and sane means continuing to fund computer skills/hobbies, and that’s always been expensive (art/music). I’ve repeatedly learned to avoid the cheapest option or “stopgaps” when buying, due to shorter usability periods of lower-end or older hardware (I’ve done two used iMacs as cheaper stopgaps, but that was poor use of money over the last 6 years).

I won’t consider a Mini because of thermals (historically an issue of self-destructing hardware, especially as I use stuff years longer than corpos want us to before replacement). I used to aim for a Mac Pro, but that turned into madness. What am I saying— all tech is various types of madness anymore.

Yeah, I have effectively retired, and don't miss trying to find work of late, but we will see if I can stay retired with the current economy.

I've got a base M1 mini and a base M4 mini and haven't had them self-destruct, yet. Actually, my 2012 Quad i7 mini is still running fine as my EyeTV DVR, but perhaps I don't stress test my Macs as much as you do. Out of curiousity, what older generation iMacs have you been using?

On the plus side, I do find music software much cheaper than it was 20-30 years ago.

Again, best of luck!

 

[masterhiggins]

But are eggs going to be cheaper??

Do you buy more iphones than eggs?

 

[masterhiggins]

I much prefer to have my products made by a hostile country as long as the slave labor makes my iphone cheaper.

 

[Cervisia]

I guess my spin is that mocking people for showing support for a movement that basically started out as "black people should be able to survive an arrest" doesn't exactly show that wonderful universal unity that some are arguing we have reached which makes any such protest unnecessary. I won't disagree that that movement's message may have mutated over time into something different, but having watched the video of George Floyd's arrest, I can understand how the initial sentiment started. You are lucky that nothing like that happens in your area.

And you still do it. Probably you can't even see that the problem was portraying a dead American junkie as the most important thing the whole world should worry about. Just another manifestation of the usual American self-importance.

Edit: And if your perception that some UK footballers kneeling is somehow the US forcing you to do something, try to wrap your head around the president of the United States saying your country should be a state and they intended to make that happen. That is the crap that Greenland, Canada, and Panama currently have to deal with. Sorry if our perception is that your having to put up with a few guys kneeling doesn't seem like the US is really imposing that much on you, comparatively.

We weren't talking about my perception, but I'll just give up at this point. Maybe my command of the English language is the problem, maybe something on your side.