Apple asks government for tariff exemption on Mac Pro parts imported from China

[Matrix]

 

 

 

In brief: Apple is one of several US companies concerned about the proposed 25 percent tariff on goods imported from China. The iPhone maker has asked the Trump administration to exclude parts for its new Mac Pro and various accessories from these duties.

As reported by Bloomberg, Apple filed exemption requests with the Office of the US Trade Representative that were posted on July 18. It requests 15 components be excluded from the import tariffs, and while it doesn’t mention the Mac Pro by name, many of the parts appear to be designed for the expensive desktop computer, including power supplies, graphics processing modules, internal cables and circuit boards, the stainless steel and aluminum frame, and the optional wheels. The company also wants its Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad excluded.

“There are no other sources for this proprietary, Apple-designed component,” states the filings.

The Mac Pro had been Apple’s only major device to be built in the US, having been assembled in Texas since 2013, but it was recently revealed that the machine would be built by contract manufacturer Quanta Computer in China. An Apple spokesperson said the Mac Pro is designed and engineered in the US and contains some US-made components.

Apple has seen several of its products, including the Apple Watch and AirPods, excluded from tariffs in the past.

After imposing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods last year, Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports in May.

Apple unveiled the new Mac Pro back in June. It starts at $5,999 but those who want the top specs, $5,000 Pro Display XDR monitor, and the $1,000 Pro Stand might have to pay over $50,000 for the full setup.

 

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[Matrix]

Trump says Apple won't get tax waivers or cuts for new Mac Pro parts made in China

The president wants an all-American Mac Pro

 

 

 

In context: Even if you've been living under a rock, you may have heard that the Trump administration is looking to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of consumer products that are assembled in China. Naturally, big tech companies are trying to fight it because outsourcing is what made their businesses very profitable.

Earlier this morning, President Trump didn't resist the temptation to tweet yet another loud message aimed at big tech, and more specifically Apple. The U.S. president says his administration won't be getting any tax exemptions on the new Mac Pro, which is not unexpected if you consider his general stance on products made in China.

Trump had previously said there wouldn't be any tariffs for companies that can prove they can only source parts from China. This is a big pain point for Apple, for whom the previous Mac Pro was the only high-end product being manufactured in the U.S. and heralded as a great example that it can be done if companies want to, but not without some challenges.

A recent report from the Wall Street Journal said that Apple chose China-based Quanta to manufacture the new Mac Pro, so it applied for tariff exemptions for a number of parts earlier this month. Seeing as the U.S. president has publicly rejected the deal, the Cupertino giant is left with 25% tariffs on those parts, as well as a PR nightmare that turned investor optimism down a notch.

To put things in perspective, Apple's new Mac Pro starts at $6,000 for the base model -- and while little else is known about the price matrix, the best guess is that a top of the line model will burn a $45,000 hole in your pocket, unless you decide to spend it on a Tesla Model 3 with autopilot.

It's not clear if Apple will raise the price for the higher end models as a result, and one could certainly argue that it wouldn't be fair for consumers since it isn't even a good cheese grater. PC makers Intel, Microsoft, HP and Dell face a similar conundrum for their lower end products designed for mass appeal, and they've recently shared their own, collective criticism on the Trump tariffs.

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[Ha91]

Apple was just getting lazy and fooling around with exemptions on chips, memory and what not. Charging too high a price on components is not the way to run a business in a capitalist world especially when you have tax exemptions that are just unfair and unjust.

Apple can't be too clever with Trump. He is a businessman and has played with loop-holes. He knows what he is doing and I support him.