Apple Watch Now Excluded From U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods

Apple in November asked the U.S. government to exclude the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, and iPhone components from tariffs on goods imported from China, and the Apple Watch has been exempted.

applewatch5lineup
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Trade Representative on Friday approved a tariff waiver for Apple's wrist worn device.

A 15 percent tariff on a long list of products imported from China went into effect on September 1, though it was halved on February 15 after an initial trade deal was established.

Apple said that the Apple Watch should be exempted because it is "it is not strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025' or other Chinese industrial programs." Apple also claimed that it was not able to find a source outside of China to meet demand for Apple Watch production in 2020.

Apple has also filed for waivers for AirPods, ‌HomePod‌, ‌iPhone‌ components, and other products impacted by the tariffs.

Apple CEO Tim Cook in October said that he was hopeful the U.S. and China would resolve their trade issues. "I don't know every chapter of the book, but I think that will eventually happen," Cook said. "I certainly hope it happens during the quarter, but we'll see about that."

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

JPack Avatar
61 months ago
Taking care of the important stuff.

Meanwhile, the 500 million N95 respirators on order are expected to take 18 months. Manufacturers in China aren’t able to fulfill the request due to face saving procurement requirements.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/trump-s-500-million-respirators-could-take-18-months-to-deliver
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
satchmo Avatar
61 months ago
The donation of 2 million masks probably didn't hurt Apple's case.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
61 months ago

Hopefully apple passes along these savings to the customers....lol
Nope. Apple has been absorbing the tariff hit on behalf of its customers. No need to pass anything on.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
developer13245 Avatar
61 months ago
Fact: A 25% import tariff on cell phones and laptops would have killed Apple. Apple’s existence relies on psycho price points and margins - F that up and Apple is dead.. Period! Tim Cook made a special trip to DC to whisper that fact into Trump’s ear. This is why we have a “phase one” trade deal, it saved Apple.

Apple’s existence completely depends on China in its current form, including all of the ‘unsightly’ malfeasance perpetrated by the CCP (slave labor, etc…) This is the dirty little secret that no one wants to accept. So while other business have been able to decouple from China, this will not be the case for Apple (and a few other very large/influential companies). This has created a dilemma for the US government. Will the US government allow the CCP to continue wrecking the USA just so Apple can prop up the US stock market? Or will the US government do its job to protect the country? The choice should be obvious, but there is too much money to be made by those in power, especially those like Tim Cook who admire how the CCP organizes Chinese society (and would welcome that in the USA).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
61 months ago

They haven't absorbed anything. originally when the tariff was in place, they just charged customers extra. Eliminating this tariff just increases their margins.
That's not true. Prices were not increased. You may not know Apple's GPMs have decreased over the last couple of years; imposed tariffs being a part of that.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kyleh22 Avatar
61 months ago
Hopefully apple passes along these savings to the customers....lol
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)