Apple warns Donald Trump’s China tariffs to impact Apple Watch, Airpods prices
Apple says airpods will be impacted by the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese goods. Photo: Getty
Tech giant Apple has warned that the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on Chinese goods will affect the pricing of a wide range of its products including Apple Watch, Airpods and the Homepod.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has tariffs on an additional $US267 billion ($375 billion) worth of Chinese goods “ready to go on short notice if I want”.
In an unsigned letter it submitted on Wednesday to US officials, Apple claimed that the tariffs would result in “higher prices” for consumers and ultimately hurt the company’s sales.
The proposed tariff would impact Apple Watch, Airpods, Apple Pencil, HomePod and Mac Mini, CNBC reported.
Of the products, the tech giant cited as being affected by the tariff, its smart watches are estimated to bring in the highest revenue, estimated at $US6.1 billion ($8.57 billion) last year.
This represents a small portion of Apple’s $US229 billion ($322 billion) in overall sales.
However, Apple’s CEO was confident the iPhone, which accounted for about two-thirds of Apple’s revenue in its most recent fiscal year, would not be impacted.
It also failed to reference the iPad, which brought in $US19.2 billion ($27 billion) in sales in the most recent year, or most of its Mac computers which generated $US25.8 billion ($36.3 billion).
Apple argued that the way US trade officials calculate the US trade balance – attributing the entire value of a product to a country like China where final assembly happens – fails to reflect the true value that Apple generates.
The company noted it spent $US50 billion ($70 billion) with 9000 US suppliers in the most recent fiscal year.
The technology sector is one of the biggest potential losers in the proposed $US200 billion tariff list.
Fitness tracker maker Fitbit also said it would be hit by tariffs, and chipmaker Intel said the levies could slow down the adoption of 5G networks, the next generation of wireless data technology for smartphones and other mobile devices.
The New Daily contacted Apple for comment but did not receive a response by deadline.
-with wires
