President Trump reportedly ordered tariffs on $200 billion more Chinese goods yesterday. After these were first proposed several weeks ago, Apple warned that they’ll likely increase the cost of many of its products.
The list of affected devices includes some of Apple’s most popular offerings.
The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury is attempting to get China to agree to a fresh round of trade negotiations to end the growing trade war. Nevertheless, Trump quietly ordered the new tariffs yesterday, according to Bloomberg.
Trump tariffs bring higher prices on Apple products
Last week, Apple sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative warning that the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Mac mini, and Apple Pencil would all be affected by the then-proposed Trump tariffs. The company wanted that these could lead to consumers paying higher prices for the products.
However, notably absent from the list is some of Apple’s best-selling devices, including ones from the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook lines.
Although CEO Tim Cook and Apple’s senior management concur with Pres. Trump’s goal of making Chinese companies stop stealing the intellectual property of American businesses, they don’t agree with his methods. “It is difficult to see how tariffs that hurt U.S. companies and U.S. consumers will advance the Government’s objectives with respect to China’s technology policies,” Apple said in its letter.
With these latest Trump tariffs just now going into effect, it’s not yet known when price hikes on the Apple products will begin.