Trump says Apple will not receive tariff exemptions for Mac Pro parts
President Trump said in a tweet this morning that his administration will not allow Apple to avoid tariffs on Mac Pro parts, after the company requested exemption earlier this month.
As part of an ongoing trade battle with China, the Trump administration has proposed rigid tariffs on imports from China. The list of proposed items includes electronics, potentially hitting Apple with tariff increases as high as 25 percent.
Earlier this month, Apple filed requests to the US Trade Representative office, requesting that some parts be excluded from the scheduled tariffs. While the submissions did not explicitly mention the Mac Pro, Bloomberg reported last week that the descriptions in the archives were consistent with desktop computer parts. Apple recently moved the production of Mac Pro to China from the United States.
Apple will not receive tariff waves, or relief, for Mac Pro parts made in China. Do them in the US, no tariffs!
̵[ads1]1; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2019
Trump seems to have jumped in front of a US trade representative's decision and wrote in a tweet that Apple will not receive exception.
"Apple will not get tariff waves, or relief, for Mac Pro parts made in China," Trump wrote. "Make them in the US, no tariffs!"
An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple has narrowly avoided previous Trump management rates on any of its devices, including Apple Watch and AirPods. The technology industry as a whole has pushed Trump to avoid tariffs that could damage the bottom line of US electronics manufacturers.
