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Proposed Tariffs Will Impact Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Mac Mini and More

Before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired while on a trip to Africa, Chief of Staff Kelly called him and said "The President is going to send you a tweet".

Well, President Trump has sent Apple and Tim Cook a tweet:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 4 hours ago

Apple prices may increase because of the massive Tariffs we may be imposing on China - but there is an easy solution where there would be ZERO tax, and indeed a tax incentive. Make your products in the United States instead of China. Start building new plants now. Exciting! #MAGA

16,869 replies 14,798 retweets 55,630 likes

------
The party is over. The bills have come due.
 
At this point I could see the iPhone event next week dedicating a few minutes to bad mouth this administration and its policies, directly from Tim Cook
 
hellopupy said:
Well you're wrong about it never being useful as a negotiating tactic because these so called threats have been bringing major countries to the negotiating table.

It actually worked with Europe and Canada. Well Canada was tariffs and leverage from Mexico but tariffs nonetheless. China will be the last to come to the table, as expected but its a matter of time. The more countries that come to the table the more pressure it puts on others to come to an agreement.

The interesting thing is almost all of these countries already know that they need to lower their tariffs, they all talk about free trade but put tariffs because they want the best deal for their country. The right thing to do is for all countries to ultimately go lower and lower. A lot of people disagree that tariffs is the wrong way to go about getting there. I used to disagree too but I see it working, and working better than I ever thought.
Click to expand...

They were already at the table and would have negotiated regardless, without all the drama. That’s how it has always been done... without the noise and drama of this reality TV-like atmosphere to publicize the negotiations.

I don’t know what you mean by Europe and Canada... AFAIK, tariffs hasn’t resulted in any net positives, and the new deal with Mexico apparently is worse than what we had with NAFTA according to those who are familiar with the details. As far as I can tell, there has been zero upside and only pain on both sides, and I expect it will stay that way. If Trump doesn’t relent (I suspect he will), he’d be committing political suicide for the entire Republican Party, cos as I said before, it’s only a matter of time before tariffs (ie, taxes on Americans) affect Americans in larger numbers.

And even if it accomplishes his goal of hurting other economies, it will come back to hurt the US economy... when Chinese consumers can no longer afford iPhones, KFC, Coca Cola, etc., what do you think will happen to those companies’ earnings? Their suppliers’ earnings? The job safety of the employees that work for those companies? George W Bush tried tariffs to protect the steel industry and it backfired and he had to repeal it less than a year later cos it caused more harm than good.

Lastly, as Adam Smith said, there’s no such thing as a zero balance trade balance. It doesn’t exist and it won’t help dent the growing deficit in this country and trade deficits always went up when the economy did well and went down when the economy slowed so Trump’s fixation on this issue is nonsensical.

That said, if it actually achieves anything positive, I will have no problem standing corrected. :)
 
China is using their massive mercantile surpluses to supplant the entire West in Africa and in our "back yard" Latin America. China is rapidly replacing the USA on the world stage. China is replacing The World Bank.

This conflict was inevitable as China has plans to be the lone super power on this planet and they tossed away the notion of waiting fifty years for that outcome at least a decade ago. Without this confrontation China will be the lone super power/banker on this planet in less than ten years.

China is also advancing militarily including space. You can confront China now while we have a clear military advantage or wait until they have a three times greater economic advantage and military parity.
 
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DVD9 said:
China is using their massive mercantile surpluses to supplant the entire West in Africa and in our "back yard" Latin America. China is rapidly replacing the USA on the world stage. China is replacing The World Bank.

This conflict was inevitable as China has plans to be the lone super power on this planet and they tossed away the notion of waiting fifty years for that outcome at least a decade ago. Without this confrontation China will be the lone super power/banker on this planet in less than ten years.

China is also advancing militarily including space. You can confront China now while we have a clear military advantage or wait until they have a three times greater economic advantage and military parity.
Click to expand...

No no.

People stand with China. China before USA. if that’s what it takes to keep iPhones $100-200 cheaper. Cheap iPhones are all that matters to consumers. How dare this administration challenge the world superpower that is Chynnnnnnnnna.

Btw- that’s the price delta for people trading in their conscience and losing track of what really matters.

My iPhone gonna cost more? Where do I sign up to be part of the resistance?

What’s funny is iPhone price increases aren’t even actually mentioned

Price increase of comparatively petty dent to the wallet - HomePod watch and AirPods are enough for people to stand with China and Apple, one in the same.

Oh Steve I miss thee
 
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DVD9 said:
Before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired while on a trip to Africa, Chief of Staff Kelly called him and said "The President is going to send you a tweet".

Well, President Trump has sent Apple and Tim Cook a tweet:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 4 hours ago

Apple prices may increase because of the massive Tariffs we may be imposing on China - but there is an easy solution where there would be ZERO tax, and indeed a tax incentive. Make your products in the United States instead of China. Start building new plants now. Exciting! #MAGA

16,869 replies 14,798 retweets 55,630 likes

------
The party is over. The bills have come due.
Click to expand...
Further proof that Trump is an economic moron.
 
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thadoggfather said:
Lol

Ain’t gonna be no blue wave tsunami in the midterms cause the price of homepods and the watch is going up.

Wishful thinking my dude :p

... are you Tim Cook?
Click to expand...

You shouldn’t take things so literally. The overall impact of tariffs (ie, tax on Americans) will come to haunt republicans if this turns into an all out trade war which will impact company earnings, the stock market, jobs and increase cost of living. I’m betting Trump will back down, but who knows with this guy.

BTW, I’m guessing you’re a republican. Have you ever thought that maybe the problem isn’t the Democrats but this rigged two party system that they’ve turned into sport politics that have Americans turning on each other?

Which is precisely what American enemies like Putin and Iran want to amp up and why their tactic has been to promote extreme left/right views and people like Trump. It’s working and supporting either party with no middle ground will only weaken this country further... something to think about.
 
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Karma*Police said:
You shouldn’t take things so literally. The overall impact of tariffs (ie, tax on Americans) will come to haunt republicans if this turns into an all out trade war which will impact company earnings, the stock market, jobs and increase cost of living. I’m betting Trump will back down, but who knows with this guy.

BTW, I’m guessing you’re a republican. Have you ever thought that maybe the problem isn’t the Democrats but this rigged two party system that they’ve turned into sport politics that have Americans turning on each other?

Which is precisely what American enemies like Putin and Iran want to amp up and why their tactic has been to promote extreme left/right views and people like Trump. It’s working and supporting either party with no middle ground will only weaken this country further... something to think about.
Click to expand...

Your assumption is incorrect. But it would be way more off base to accuse me of being liberal (they are hysterical virtually all the time about everything on average , it’s noise to anyone not piped in) than republican for I find their followers generally more annoying, while preaching the most and being full of blatant hypocrisy even on the surface. They won’t stop virtue signaling about love trump’s hate but they are very very hateful. You aren’t even allowed to wear MAGA attire without fear of getting assaulted. There’s a reason 63 million people voted for him, but if you walked around, you’d think 20 people voted for him. Rallies are the only physical safe space / the internet is the only
Place to express support without repercussions... except for rampant censorship towards his supporters

The same couldn’t be said of people wearing attire supporting the previous administration, no matter whether people who see it in passing agreed with the support or not. If they did disagree, they generally kept it civil and their mouths shut. But now- Liberals (again on average there are exceptiOns) don’t allow dissenting opinions... whatsoever. Tolerance of diversity cannot extend to thoughts. It’s either “you’re on our team or you’re our enemy.”

I don’t identify with either party / find them both generally reprehensible and similar. I think it’s a dividing tactic to get people who aren’t in power to argue with each other all day. The phenomenon of divisive American politics is largely attributed to the media (imo), not the current president of coming up on 2 years. Division doesn’t happen comparatively overnight. It’s been stewing for a long time. Longer than “fascist cheetoh” entering the WH. Longer than even obama administration but he didn’t help
 
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RootBeerMan said:
Further proof that Trump is an economic moron.
Click to expand...

You only need to look at his track record as a businessman and all the failures and bankruptcies to know that... Trump steaks anyone? Mmm, just go to... The Sharper Image???

However, he’s a supremely good self-promoter; I’ll give him that.
 
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thadoggfather said:
Your assumption is incorrect. But it would be way more off base to accuse me of being liberal (they are hysterical virtually all the time about everything on average , it’s noise to anyone not piped in) than republican for I find their followers generally more annoying, while preaching the most and being full of blatant hypocrisy even on the surface. They won’t stop virtue signaling about love trump’s hate but they are very very hateful. You aren’t even allowed to wear MAGA attire without fear of getting assaulted. There’s a reason 63 million people voted for him, but if you walked around, you’d think 20 people voted for him. Rallies are the only physical safe space / the internet but that’s being shunned.

The same couldn’t be said of people wearing attire supporting the previous administration, no matter whether people who see it in passing agreed with the support or not. If they did disagree, they generally kept it civil and their mouths shut. But now- Liberals (again on average there are exceptiOns) don’t allow dissenting opinions... whatsoever. Tolerance of diversity cannot extend to thoughts. It’s either “you’re on our team or you’re our enemy.”

I don’t identify with either party / find them both generally reprehensible and similar. I think it’s a dividing tactic to get people who aren’t in power to argue with each other all day. The phenomenon of divisive American politics is largely attributed to the media (imo), not the current president of coming up on 2 years. Division doesn’t happen comparatively overnight. It’s been stewing for a long time. Longer than “fascist cheetoh” entering the WH. Longer than even obama administration but he didn’t help
Click to expand...

I agree with you there... Trump is a symptom, not the cause. I think there are a lot of factors that contributed to the polarization of this country, but no more than economics. It used to be that the top 1% paid 75% in taxes a few decades ago but as the rich and powerful influenced politics more and more, that number is now down to 37%. And as the wealth gap grew, the middle class disappeared along with more moderate, centrist views.

I have a love/hate relationship with the media like most people, but I recognize that they are essential to a well-functioning democracy, and I think Trump’s attack on them is very, very dangerous. It is reminiscent of every dictator and autocrat because they all attacked and discredited the media as part of their strategy to gain full power and destroy their enemies. While it’s easy to blame the media for today’s problems, people need to take accountability for what they watch and read IMO.
 
gaximus said:
And they shouldn't, if your building a product, and the price of the materials go up, you need to raise your prices, and not just by the price of the increase, but by the percentage of the price increase, to keep up with inflation.
Click to expand...

The "Cost of materials" going up is one thing, a tax imposed by a power hungry narcissist is another. Apple already enjoys massive profits and they will take a hit if the tariffs go into affect, they may still sell a lot of iPhones, iPads, etc but it won't be at the numbers they told wall street. Its time Congress got off their butts and did their job. This is not the emperors sole decision, they too have the power to check him as he is out of control, yet they are too scared and unwilling to do it.

They will end up paying big time in the long term.
 
Karma*Police said:
I agree with you there... Trump is a symptom, not the cause. I think there are a lot of factors that contributed to the polarization of this country, but no more than economics. It used to be that the top 1% paid 75% in taxes a few decades ago but as the rich and powerful influenced politics more and more, that number is now down to 37%. And as the wealth gap grew, the middle class disappeared along with more moderate, centrist views.

I have a love/hate relationship with the media like most people, but I recognize that they are essential to a well-functioning democracy, and I think Trump’s attack on them is very, very dangerous. It is reminiscent of every dictator and autocrat because they all attacked and discredited the media as part of their strategy to gain full power and destroy their enemies. While it’s easy to blame the media for today’s problems, people need to take accountability for what they watch and read IMO.
Click to expand...

...But he often delineates the necessity of the press from fake news which is activism journalism designed for no other purpose but To de legitimize this president and not respect or acknowledge he is president and yes its midterms but we aren’t still in 2016 who’s president mode. It’s absurd! The fake news role with previous administration was to pump him up as much as possible and get you to like him and to filter out most criticism. The opposite strategy for this president

Ymmv but there are two movies going on in USA
 
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ivnj said:
...Trump but I agree with this....
Click to expand...

Corollary:
For Mini prices to go up, there has to BE a Mini.
Apple just told us in plain speak that their will be one.
I Doubt they'd have mentioned it at all if all that was involved was the tail end of a dying product line.
Yet there it was, right up with watches and wireless earbuds.
 
ivnj said:
I don't like Trump but I agree with this.

"In a tweet, Trump said there's an “easy solution” to Apple's potential woes that also came with a tax break: “Make your products in the United States instead of China. Start building new plants now. Exciting!"
Click to expand...

iPhones and Macs would be priced out of reach for many of Apple's customers if they were manufactured in the US. This isn't unique to Apple. Companies don't manufacture in China because it's fun. I am pretty sure that loosing a yuge chunk of customers is not what Apple would view as a component to an "easy solution".
 
dogslobber said:
The irony is that the economy is all Obama's doing which Trump trumpets as his own. Will he own up to destroying the economy with these insane import taxes? Not likely.
Click to expand...

Oh man. Put down the kool aid

Obama said “what are ya gonna do wave a magic wand” now he’s blaming Bush for his failures after 2 terms and taking credit for economic surging growth under trump. He hates trump so much he wanted to wait until after his administration to let the economy take off. So people “might” mistakenly give credit to trump. Lol!!!

The irrationality never ends. Baffling
 
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triptolemus said:
iPhones and Macs would be priced out of reach for many of Apple's customers if they were manufactured in the US. This isn't unique to Apple. Companies don't manufacture in China because it's fun. I am pretty sure that loosing a yuge chunk of customers is not what Apple would view as a component to an "easy solution".
Click to expand...
Beyond costs of labor, China has a huge advantage in a number of natural resources (producing ~90% of global rare-earth metals, for example). But let's not let that distract from the fact that the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.
 
triptolemus said:
iPhones and Macs would be priced out of reach for many of Apple's customers if they were manufactured in the US. This isn't unique to Apple. Companies don't manufacture in China because it's fun. I am pretty sure that loosing a yuge chunk of customers is not what Apple would view as a component to an "easy solution".
Click to expand...

This is possibly part of the reason why the Mac Pro 2013 was priced so high - it was a boutique product built/assembled in the US. Would people accept a $1500 iPhone Xs because it happens to be assembled in Texas by workers who may be not only more expensive but also less experienced than the Chinese?

This is part of the argument against things like cars - some of which are built in Mexico for the US market. If they were built in Detroit would they be as cheap? I doubt it.

The argument against globalisation like this is always down to price. If you start implementing tariffs to encourage manufacture in the US on US wages and conditions you have 2 problems.

1. Quality of the product
2. Price of the product

Quality can be improved over time but price of the product is basically going to go up horrifically. If you're patriotic enough to accept the price increase we're going back to the days when consumers would buy fewer items because they cost so much - but back then you might have expected the quality of certain goods to be better than before because people buy them in less volume because of the cost.
 
thadoggfather said:
Oh man. Put down the kool aid

Obama said “what are ya gonna do wave a magic wand” now he’s blaming Bush for his failures after 2 terms and taking credit for economic surging growth under trump. He hates trump so much he wanted to wait until after his administration to let the economy take off. So people “might” mistakenly give credit to trump. Lol!!!

The irrationality never ends. Baffling
Click to expand...

Isn’t it curious how we are watching the same film, yet we see different stories.
The only people giving credit to Trump for economic growth are those that voted him in.
They also think he’s a successful businessman. Kool aid indeed.
 
Wando64 said:
Isn’t it curious how we are watching the same film, yet we see different stories.
The only people giving credit to Trump for economic growth are those that voted him in.
They also think he’s a successful businessman. Kool aid indeed.
Click to expand...

No that’s what should be bipartisan

At what point will you give trump credit for the economy? After first term? When?

When the economy is on a
Major upswing with new management , it’s fair to draw some conclusions

Or how
Does it make sense he’s such a catastrophe and can’t do anything right but became
President and “was handed” a good
Economy and somehow didn’t Mess it up? It’s denial on behalf of obama and his kool aid drinking sycophants

At least we agree there are two films going on haha

I’m of the opinion trump derangement Syndrome is real. Obama derangement Syndrome
Wasn’t a term Causs wasn’t a thing. Or
Bush derangement Syndrome

But trump derangement Syndrome is palpable all around

It’s incredible. I’ve never ever seen one person have such an impact on people’s emotional expenditures and obsessive daily thoughts. The obama Hype and pop culture infiltration and lecturing come
Down is real for so many people
Sadly.
 
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