Trump Suggests Tariffs Could Be Placed on iPhones and Laptops Imported From China

[sirozha]

Those were my thoughts. Apparently the idea is to apply tariffs to any tech company HQ'd in the U.S. but outsourced overseas for manufacture/production. Here's a list of mobile phone makers and the countries in which they are based. I wonder how many of the 13 listed as based in the U.S. actually manufacture their products in the U.S.? I haven't checked, but bet none of them are. So tariffs should affect all of those companies. Out of the 13 based in the U.S., only Google compares at the high end with its Pixel. Apple's chief phone competitors are all foreign based.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_phone_makers_by_country

The tariffs will be applied in all phones manufactured in China, not only to the companies whose HQs are in the US. If anything, Apple may get an exampton because it’s a US company that employs tens of thousands of employees in the US.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I saw that now. I am shocked. I don’t know how that plays in 2019-2020 with Trump. Bernie’s message has been popular in the rust belt but Trump bungling tarrifs so bad might ruin it (I am a huge Bernie fan BTW)
[doublepost=1543306849][/doublepost]

GOP’s 2 weapons are the electoral college and voter suppression

Don’t forget Gerimandering!

 

[KPandian1]

But if it's Apple's cash hoard, it's not Tim's Money. It belongs to the company and its investors and shareholders. Like me. I prefer that money stays apolitical.

Whose money do you think is spent in the billions by the lobbyists in Washington, D. C.? Every pharmaceutical companies CEO's private funds!

Money has always been political - that is why Nixon freed the dollar from the gold standard.

Remember "Render to Caesarthe things that are Caesar's; ... ?"

 

[ChazSch]

Don’t like seeing him pick and choose different products. Make it 20 percent for all products built in China.

he is a megalomaniac...playing God... which he isnt, except to maybe his idiot daughter and two idiot sons
[doublepost=1543331298][/doublepost]

Are they tired of winning yet?

this...
[doublepost=1543331602][/doublepost]

correct move!

apple builds for cheap in china and rips off their customers with way way to high prices. apple has become very very greedy!

so does every other electronic manufacturer. strange how you only point to apple for doing this. I worked at a company that produced home kitchen electronics etc...rhymes with Smack and Pecker..ALL made in china.... all at huge profit (over 50% - which is standard business models right)...yet you aren't whining about that.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

An idiot? That is a little extreme considering what we had to put up with when Obama was in office. Just look at what happened to alternative power while Obama was in office. In about 8 years we lost almost all solar electric panel manufacturing, 123 went under and a lot of allied businesses failed. All of this while the administration was supposedly trying to put us on a new direction with respect to energy.

That's the best you could come up with for what damage Obama did while he was in office? I'm not even sure it's true, but so we lost solar panel manufacturing vs what permanent damage Trump is doing to the entire country in almost every aspect from the economy, to world trade, to division of our people and losing the respect of long time allies? The list goes on and on (new failures added daily), but you're concerned with solar panel manufacturing?

 

[Tonewheel]

Are we great yet?

 

[udayan81]

Trump is just on the path to ruin the economy.

 

[KPandian1]

For sure but again my point was that she was right despite the fact it did not help her.

I agree that they are deplorable - as they were during the campaign. Hillary could've waited until winning the elections; then she wouldn't have had the need to say it.

Bill Clinton was better at explaining the kind of people Drumpf was/is conning - the barely high school educated middle-class male.

 

[curtvaughan]

All the other companies try to design bland cars that the ordinary public will buy. Most restaurants serve plain, easy on the palate food rather than aim to please the 5%. This is the same. GM and Toyota want to design a car once, and have it sell millions. Tesla is happy selling thousands.

Yes, GM and other large car manufacturers want to sell the "mostest for the leastest" on the U.S. market. The layoffs are a result of looking for the cheapest labor costs toward that goal. That is also why tech industries, textiles, and most labor intensive industrial factions also have largely moved overseas - generally either to India, China, Korea, or Southeast Asia, where labor is cheap and management positions come from fairly a well educated, generally multi-lingual class in those countries. This is why I can call Dell support and get someone from India taking my call. So far, Apple tech support seems to be locally based.

 

[Tinmania]

Let’s be fair. If we are going to say trump inherited obamas economic growth (I don’t disagree) we have to admit Clinton inherited Reagan’s economic growth. Last I checked Reagan was a republican.

Last I checked Reagan was out to pasture for nearly half a decade before Clinton came into office.


Mike

 

[sofila]

New York, Silicon Valley and Hollywood are good examples of the kind of economy the US should be going forward.

Yes, but that may not be enough for all 325.7 million of US citizens to survive

 

[BuddyTronic]

People react to Trump in a predictably daft way.

I guarantee there will be no 10% tariff applied to iPhones. WHY am I so sure you ask? Well, Tim Cook already met with president Trump a while ago and they did agree on something.

What did they agree to?

Apple will move factories to USA. Apple creates more jobs.

Apple gets to repatriate a quarter Trillion dollars $250B at a reduced tax rate.

Apple is exempt from Tariffs until the factories in USA are operational.


I think it is simple to see that will be how it plays out.


Tim Cook might remind Ivanka Trump today about that deal - but it's not even needed. Trump will say a lot of things and keep a lot of people off balance. Have you noticed Trump saying a lot of things that ruffles feathers?

 

[KPOM]

If the US had the population leverage we would do the same thing. Look at the way we threaten to financially isolate other countries from the entire world if they choose to to business with Iran even if they have nothing to do with OUR dispute with the country?

As for the “stealing,” it’s no different than when people claim Facebook “steals” their data. They signed it away as part of the deal.

Piracy and outright theft are rampant in China. And China has a “Made in China 2025” plan that specifically aims for them to dominate the technology industry. That’s why both the Trump and the Obama administrations have made 5G a critical strategy. The US is backing Nokia and Ericsson. Trump has added the tariffs for leverage.

 

[GermanSuplex]

These import tariffs will hurt in some places. It will disrupt industry. That's the point of them.

The US is in trouble. Middle America voted for Trump because they see the problems that need fixing. We need to re-invent ourselves if we are going to survive as a country. 30% of low-wage repetitive jobs will be gone in 10 years due to automation.

We don't need as many cars as we used to. Things are more automated than ever. A lot of my younger friends take uber everywhere because it's cheaper than owning a car. Or, they live close to work. The younger generation is mobile and moves around. Gone are the days of having a job for 30 years. Heck even 10 years is considered long. Soon we won't even own cars. We will subscribe to a car service that picks us up autonomously. Only service type workers will own cars (plumbers, electricians, people that need to carry stuff around).

We bailed out car companies a decade ago, and they thanked us by moving plants to Mexico. The US has gotten lazy and outsources way too much. In the meantime, our population becomes dumber and dumber. We have a huge trade deficit, and it needs to be fixed. The world is owning us, like it or not. It's already happening and it's probably too late. We are borrowing at record levels. All this needs to change.

We need more high-tech factories and production in the US. This is why Trump is imposing tariffs. Have you ever heard of VAT? It's on everything in Europe. Canada has import taxes too.

Facebook is likely dead in 5 years. All those jobs are going to be gone too.

People seriously need a wakeup call. Now go get your Starbucks and get to work, it's almost 10am.

I don't disagree we need to do something different, but this doesn't really explain how these seemingly random tariffs are going to help anyone or hurt anyone other than the poor and middle class.
[doublepost=1543333336][/doublepost]

He may need an interpreter, but he was spot on why the California fires were so devastating. When a state must spend resources on educating and providing welfare for millions of illegal aliens, the money needs to be cut elsewhere. The bankrupt state like California can’t take care of its forests. It’s obvious if one pulls one’s head out of one’s rear end.

If he was spot-on he wouldn't have needed for you to tell us what he actually meant. He has no "uncanny ability" besides being an idiot, he's not masterful - or even thoughtful. He spews whatever is in his head.

We can discuss the merits of improving management of forests and fire prevention - I'm old enough to remember Smokey The Bear, who was far more articulate and well-spoken than Trump ever was.

 

[KPOM]

That's the best you could come up with for what damage Obama did while he was in office? I'm not even sure it's true, but so we lost solar panel manufacturing vs what permanent damage Trump is doing to the entire country in almost every aspect from the economy, to world trade, to division of our people and losing the respect of long time allies? The list goes on and on (new failures added daily), but you're concerned with solar panel manufacturing?

Obama over-regulated. The Federal Register grew to record levels. Dodd-Frank placed onerous requirements on relatively small banks, which discouraged lending to small businesses (remember commercial lending didn’t cause the financial crisis). That’s why we had slow growth for 8 years. Usually, coming out of a financial crisis the recovery is much more rapid.

 

[trainwrecka]

If it's Tim Cook's own personal money, he is free to do with his money however he wants.

But if it's Apple's cash hoard, it's not Tim's Money. It belongs to the company and its investors and shareholders. Like me. I prefer that money stays apolitical.

More for R&D always sounds good.

 

[DougFNJ]

Are we great yet?

Yessir, we are!

 

[trainwrecka]

Trump's steel tariffs is why GM just laid off everyone.

Give me a break. If it isn't a truck or a Corvette, no one cares about GM. There is plenty you can blame on Trump, but this isn't one of them.

 

[threesixty360]

Have you talked to a real Canadian lately? I’m up there often and buddy I’ll tell you... they hate their socialist healthcare. I personally know individuals who have waited upwards of 5 months for a basic doctors visit. If their system was so good, why do supplemental health insurance plans exist up there? So people who can afford private insurance can skip the lines. Why do they need private doctor clinics if the government system was so great?

Everything in this planet has a cost, NOTHING IS FREE. You know how Canada pays for its social healthcare? Ask a Canadian what their income tax is. It’s on average 40-55% of gross pay.

Same goes for education and the Cortez gal in NYC.. she’s refused over and over to explain how the heck she’s going to pay for her ideas.

Great ideas, but NOBODY WANTS TO PAY FOR IT.

If you can pay more to get better care then that means some people will get poor care if they can’t afford it.

Should the money someone has determine whether they live or die in the richest economy in the world?

 

[sirozha]

I don't disagree we need to do something different, but this doesn't really explain how these seemingly random tariffs are going to help anyone or hurt anyone other than the poor and middle class.
[doublepost=1543333336][/doublepost]

If he was spot-on he wouldn't have needed for you to tell us what he actually meant. He has no "uncanny ability" besides being an idiot, he's not masterful - or even thoughtful. He spews whatever is in his head.

We can discuss the merits of improving management of forests and fire prevention - I'm old enough to remember Smokey The Bear, who was far more articulate and well-spoken than Trump ever was.

Did he rake?
[doublepost=1543335553][/doublepost]

If you can pay more to get better care then that means some people will get poor care if they can’t afford it.

Should the money someone has determine whether they live or die in the richest economy in the world?

This is BS, my friend. I have many Canadian friends who love their healthcare. And they tell me stories about how they were given experimental treatments for free that saved their lives. And the fact that a Canadian has to wait for six months to see a doctor is a complete lie.

If Trump was president when you came to the US he might not have let you in.

i came to the US legally, having waited in line in my country for 9 years after I applied through a US embassy in my home country. Once I came, it took me 9 more years to get my citizenship here. I did it the right way.

You can’t accuse me of being anti-immigrant. But, I want the wall because I’m anti-illegal-immigrant.

I could have come illegally. I was in the US many times on business visa and as a tourist before I immigrated. I had met people who offered me to stay and get a fake SSN card and then get my citizenship in a fraudulent way. Believe me, many have done so. It was relatively easy to do before the birth records were computerized. You could find a grave of an infant, assume his/her name, send a letter to the courthouse where the birth was registered and request the birth certificate. Request a copy of the SSN card from the Social Security Administration for that name. Then, have a fake driver’s license made for a thousand dollars with that name. Then, apply for a passport, and viola! You are a US citizen. I decided against breaking the law and instead waited in line. I support Trump’s immigration policies.

 

[Tinmania]

Have you talked to a real Canadian lately? I’m up there often and buddy I’ll tell you... they hate their socialist healthcare.

Yea, no. Just stop with this nonsense. Canada spends less per capita on health care than the USA. With better results. They exceed the USA in almost every metric, including the two biggies, infant mortality and life expectancy.

Oh, and not a single Canadian who I know would trade their country's healthcare system for the USA's.



Mike

 

[GermanSuplex]

i came to the US legally, having waited in line in my country for 9 years after I applied through a US embassy in my home country. Once I came, it took me 9 more years to get my citizenship here. I did it the right way.

That's great, and I don't know your circumstances, but some of these horror stories coming from Mexico and South American countries I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's easy to sit in our office or on the couch with our iPads and pass judgement, but if you're watching your family being slaughtered, you probably aren't going to care what amateur talking heads on a forum like you or I think.

 

[Sefstah]

News flash! China has been screwing the US by not paying tariffs on imports like it should. It needs to stop, and Trump is the only one to stand up to them and get the money that the US deserves. Everyone is getting mad because the price on their iPhone will increase?! Maybe you should be mad at Apple for paying children pennies, and then charging us a premium.

 

[Sedulous]

I actually don’t disagree with Trump here. China has not played fair. There is no reciprocity in their market and the policies for foreign businesses essentially amounts to theft. You are a big business and want to do business in China? Be prepared to “partner” with a Chinese business, bring on a member of the communist party as an executive, and hand over your intellectual property. Then your Chinese “partner” will begin to duplicate your products and undercut your business. Oh, you make movies? Well, unless you have a Chinese partner as a producer that shares in box office profits, it won’t be allowed in China. This kind of crap has to change.

 

[jkcerda]

Yea, no. Just stop with this nonsense. Canada spends less per capita on health care than the USA. With better results. They exceed the USA in almost every metric, including the two biggies, infant mortality and life expectancy.

Oh, and not a single Canadian who I know would trade their country's healthcare system for the USA's.



Mike

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/canadian-medical-tourism_n_5949b405e4b0db570d3778ff

Bugera is far from alone. While Americans have been crossing the border for years in search of cheaper medications, it turns out there are a growing number of Canadians seeking medical treatment abroad as well, raiding their bank accounts and choosing to pay for treatment instead of being treated through their nationalized health care system. In 2014, more than 50,000 Canadians left the country for medical treatment, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. A similar number left the country for treatment in 2015.

 

[Sefstah]

This clown-crap of a President is intent on making sure every single one of us suffers for everything in our lives, isn't he. He's acting as if the United States is his own personal power-leverage tool and is willing to hurt all of its citizens just to make sure he can bully someone else on the world stage.

Or maybe he’s finally charging China tariffs they should be paying. Just like the rest of the world. You know, more money for our own economy?! He’s not hurting me or making me suffer in anyway. You’re just making that up.