The U.S. Trade Representative exempted the Apple Watch from the tariffs Apple had been paying to import this product from China, where it’s assembled.
The company continues to pay import taxes on AirPods, iMac and other products.
Apple was notified on Friday that the Apple Watch was excluded from tariffs, according to Bloomberg.
Apple Watch tariffs are a side effect of US vs. China trade war
On September 20, 1019, the Trump administration put 15% tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods brought to the United States from China. That included Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Mac mini and Apple Pencil.
Apple requested waivers on these products in November. The company told the U.S. Trade Representative that these devices are “not strategically important or related to ‘Made in China 2025’ or other Chinese industrial programs.”
The 15% tariffs from September were cut in half in December after the Trump administration signed a phase one trade deal with China. And now they’ve been removed completely for the Apple Watch. There’s no word on whether AirPods, Mac mini, and some other Apple products will be granted their own exemptions by the U.S. Trade Representative.
The trade deal signed in December also prevented the U.S. government from putting 15% tariffs on the iPhone, iPad, and MacBooks, which Trump had threatened. As it is, these computers are currently not subject to tariffs when brought in from China.
