Proposed US Govt. Tariffs to Affect a Wide Range of Apple Products Including the Macs

In response to the Trump administration’s proposed $200 billion tariffs on Chinese goods, Apple has sent a letter to the U.S. government urging not to apply the tariffs that will affect Apple products and to find “other, more effective” solutions instead, MacRumors is reporting. The iPhone maker said the tariffs will eventually lead to more expensive Apple products.

Letter

According to Apple, the tariffs would affect the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Beats headphones, AirPort routers, Apple Pencil, Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, MacBooks, Mac mini, and a selection of cables, chargers, and adapters. Apple said the proposed tariffs would lead to lower U.S. growth and competitiveness and higher prices for U.S. consumers. 

While the Trump administration has already put three sets of tariffs in place affecting steel, aluminum, and $50 billion worth of other goods from China, none of these tariffs have so far had an impact in Apple products.

Here’s what Apple wrote in a letter sent to the U.S. government:

“The proposed tariff list covers a wide range of Apple products and the products used in our U.S. operations: Apple digital health and wireless connectivity products, including Apple Watch, Apple Pencil and Air Pods; Apple computing tools such as MacMini; Apple adapters, cables and chargers engineered for efficiency and safety; Apple-designed components and made-to-specification tooling for Apple’s U.S. manufacturing and product repair facilities; specialty testing equipment for Apple’s U.S. product development labs; and servers, hard drives and cables for Apple’s U.S. data centers that support our global services such as the App Store.

Second, because all tariffs ultimately show up as a tax on U.S. consumers, they will increase the cost of Apple products that our customers have come to rely on in their daily lives. For example, the proposed tariffs cover Apple Watch, which has become the top-selling smart-watch in the U.S. and globally. 

Since we introduced Apple Watch a few years ago, we have heard from users about how it has changed, and in some cases saved their lives. Apple Watch is also being used in conjunction with American universities to help individuals to manage health conditions such as epilepsy and post-heart attack recovery.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook remains “optimistic” the tariff issue will be sorted out.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.