According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s website, Apple has filed eight public comments in support of temporary waivers for tariffs on Apple Watch and Mac Pro components. The Cupertino tech giant is hoping to get tariff exemptions granted by the former Trump administration on the import of parts for Apple Watch and Mac Pro from China.
Former U.S President Donald Trump had revived the trade war with China by imposing high tariffs on imports from the country. Fortunately for the Cupertino tech giant, in April 2020, former President Trump granted tariff exemptions to Apple on the import of parts from China in exchange for creating more jobs in America. The deal removed a 25% surcharge on Mac Pro surcharge from the tech giant’s manufacturing cost. The company’s most popular product, iPhone is not subjected to tariffs.
Apple along with Google, Intel several other companies files public comments at U.S. Trade Representative for tariff exemption on components from China
As reported by CNBC, 2024 entries are filed at the U.S. Trade Representative’s website including Apple’s 8 entries for tariff exemptions on imported parts from China under “Section 301 Investigation: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation”.
As the company’s smartwatch is also a complex health device that requires specialized assembling. Thus, the tech giant has explained that it is seeking tariff exemptions because Apple Watch is manufactured “to specification at individually-qualified facilities. It is not currently available from sources in the United States…It is currently available from third countries in limited quantities.”
The seven other filings are related to Mac Pro components like trackpad each valued at over $100, mouse each valued at over $70, printed circuit assemblies to enhance the graphics performance, power supplies suitable for physical incorporation, parts and accessories of machines, printed circuit assemblies for rendering images onto computer screens (“graphics processing modules”) and printed circuit assemblies, constituting unfinished logic boards.
The tech giant stated that the tariff “exclusion covers complex components that are made to specification at individually-qualified factories. These components are not currently available from sources in the United States… These components are not currently available from sources in third countries.”
If the tariff exemptions are granted it will remove 7.5% tariffs on Apple Watch imports and 25% tariffs on Mac Pro components.
