Apple Says Trump Tariffs Could Make Apple Watch, Homepod More Expensive
By Janko Roettgers
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Trump administration’s proposed $200 billion tariffs on goods imported from China could have a significant impact on Apple’s products and services, the company said in a public filing Friday. Some of the products that could see price increases include Watch, Homepod, Apple Pencil and Air Pods, according to the filing.
“The proposed tariff list covers a wide range of Apple products,” the company said in the document. The Mac Mini, cables and adapters, chargers and even cases for laptops and mobile devices could be hit by the tariffs, the company said.
The Trump administration has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods imported into the U.S. as part of its escalating trade war with the country. The President told reporters aboard Air Force One Friday that these tariffs would be put in place in a matter of days, while threatening another round of tariffs on imports worth an additional $267 billion, according to a Washington Post report.
Apple has long opposed these tariffs, a position the company reiterated in this week’s filing. “Our concern with these tariffs is that the U.S. will be hardest hit, and that will result in lower U.S. growth and competitiveness and higher prices for U.S. consumers,” it said. “Because all tariffs ultimately show up as a tax on U.S. consumers, they will increase the cost of Apple products that our customers have come to rely on in their daily lives.”
The company also used the filing to point out that the tariffs wouldn’t just directly impact consumer goods. Company operations would also be affected, with tariffs on cables, servers and other key hardware components potentially increasing the costs of a wide variety of operations.
Even operating the App Store could become more expensive, the company argued. “Tariffs increase the cost of our U.S. operations, divert our resources, and disadvantage Apple compared to foreign competitors,” the filing cautioned. “More broadly, tariffs will lead to higher U.S. consumer prices, lower overall U.S. economic growth, and other unintended economic consequences.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook had told investors in July that his company hadn’t been affected yet by the administration’s first round of tariffs on imports worth $50 billion. At the time, Cook still seemed optimistic about the trade war coming to a quick conclusion, saying: “We are hoping that calm heads will prevail.”
