The administration of US President Donald Trump has stated that smartphones and computers will not be subject to the proposed 10% reciprocal tariff on goods globally under his policy.
This shift might assist in maintaining lower costs for common electronic products typically not produced domestically in the United States.
The announcement made by US Customs and Border Protection stated that this exemption also covers the 145% duties levied on goods coming from China. It encompasses various electronic products and parts such as semiconductors, solar cells, and memory cards.
This would be advantageous for major U.S. technology companies such as Apple, considering that 90% of iPhones are produced and assembled in China, as reported by Wedbush Securities.
The updated exception pertains to items that arrived in the United States or were taken out of storage facilities starting from April 5th.
This represents the newest tariff adjustment by the Trump administration, which has undergone multiple reversals within their extensive strategy to impose duties on products originating from most nations. The objective is to boost domestic production. However, these exceptions appear to recognize that the present electronics supply chain predominantly resides in Asia and shifting this to the United States would pose significant challenges.
The administration under President Donald Trump has forecasted that their series of tariffs aimed at China will compel Apple to start producing iPhones domestically within the U.S., marking the first such instance.
However, this is still improbable even though US tariffs currently stand at 145% for goods produced in China—Apple has been manufacturing the majority of its iPhones there ever since the original model was released 18 years ago.
The obstacles for Apple to move its manufacturing back to the United States involve a sophisticated supply chain that was initially established in China throughout the 1990s. Establishing new factories within the U.S. would require multiple years and substantial investment amounting to billions of dollars. Additionally, this shift might subject Apple to financial pressures that could cause the price of an iPhone to rise threefold, potentially damaging sales of their flagship device.
Leave a Comment