15% Tariff Hitting AirPods, Apple Watch, HomePod and More in the U.S. This Sunday

[sirozha]

I have a vision for your future and it ain’t pretty.

Mao, Chavez, Hussein, Stalin, Hitler all had one thing in common - a political vision. A politician should be practical and open to foreign ideas. Political visions haven’t served the planet well in the past. It is a good thing though that Trump doesn’t really have a vision. So he is just a moron and not as dangerous as the people I mentioned.

Are you saying that Mao, Stalin, and Hitler were not visionaries?

 

[dukebound85]

Not all of our health benefits are free Another American myth and if you are in good health they aren’t much of a benefit.

Don’t many American’s get medical benefits through there employers?

I don’t think you realize the us health care failure

I have health insurance through my employer but I have a 6500 dductable before it even applies. This doesn’t mention the fact that I pay a monthly premium for this priveledge

Many aren’t even fortunate to have health care via employer

I’m sure your system is quite a bit better no?

 

[sirozha]

Quoting Trump as an authoritative source for facts is like quoting a Harry Potter as a source for how magic works.

No, if you believe that the Gov of China is paying the US treasury, you need to learn how tariffs work.

When the Government of China lowers the Yuan to lower the manufacturing costs denominated in USD, they essentially are paying for the tariffs because the cost of goods imported from China stays the same after the tariffs are paid. So, who is eating the tariffs? China is by lowering the value of its currency. Who is suffering from these tariffs? China is because they are making less money in USD than before the tariffs were implemented. Who is benefiting from the tariffs? US Government is benefiting because they are collecting billions of dollars from the tariffs.

China has no choice but to lower its currency because if they don't, the products manufactured in China become less competitive and consumers will switch to alternatives made elsewhere that cost less.

 

[Swift]

Eh, Apple could handle a 50% tariff with the size of their margins.

No pity here, Apple. Eat up.

Don't bother with reading their annual reports. Their margins, as the iPhone tops out, are down. They're trying to improve them with content and services.
[doublepost=1567275129][/doublepost]

When the Government of China lowers the Yuan to lower the manufacturing costs denominated in USD, they essentially are paying for the tariffs because the cost of goods imported from China stays the same after the tariffs are paid. So, who is eating the tariffs? China is by lowering of its currency.

Oh, yeah. They're screwing Trump so bad, and he's too stupid to realize it. Lowering your currency is GOOD for trade. Keeping the yuan artificially high was our complaint. Now they can sell much more to other countries. Large swaths of Africa now how very cheap Huawei phones. And the local dictators are finding that Huawei engineers are happy to help them with "security" like face recognition.

 

[sirozha]

Not all of our health benefits are free Another American myth and if you are in good health they aren’t much of a benefit.

Don’t many American’s get medical benefits through there employers?

This is wrong. Even if you are in good health, it's a tremendous benefit. In the US, I'm paying USD $1400 per month in health insurance premiums whether I go to see a doctor or not. So, even if no one in my family goes to see a doctor in an entire year (which is, of course, unrealistic because kids and adults need at least a physical or two per year), we end up paying $16,800 per year in health insurance premiums. If we do go see a doctor, then we pay the full doctor's fee (negotiated with our health insurance plan) because our deductibles are $6,000 PER PERSON PER YEAR. So, in reality, we are paying much more than $16,800 per year. You don't see what a great benefit it is to have a universal health coverage without having to pay monthly premiums for the health insurance regardless of whether or not you go to doctors?
[doublepost=1567275898][/doublepost]

Don't bother with reading their annual reports. Their margins, as the iPhone tops out, are down. They're trying to improve them with content and services.
[doublepost=1567275129][/doublepost]

Oh, yeah. They're screwing Trump so bad, and he's too stupid to realize it. Lowering your currency is GOOD for trade. Keeping the yuan artificially high was our complaint. Now they can sell much more to other countries. Large swaths of Africa now how very cheap Huawei phones. And the local dictators are finding that Huawei engineers are happy to help them with "security" like face recognition.

Our complaint was NEVER a strong Yuan. It was ALWAYS is weak YUAN.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Good. Raise them until it’s to expensive to produce them there.

China’s been ripping off the US for decades. Their rise has been all due to THEFT of American businesses and forced tech transfers - work that every American has benefited to a company in some way gets transferred to China just to do business there, then China puts in a social credit system that could potentially decrease people’s social score if they buy an American product over a Chinese.

So American companies send their tech to China to do business in China and then China fines their people in social status for buying an iPhone over a Huawei.

Go get them Trump. Screw China.

 

[iMi]

That doesn’t hurt Apple... they will eventually pass it off to consumers. Thanks failure of a President

Basic supply and demand model would disagree with your assertion. Passing the cost to the consumer would make the product more expensive. Consumers drive the price elasticity of demand. If the cost goes up, demand will certainly go down. There is such thing as price equilibrium, you know. It would definitely hurt Apple.

In fact, when Trump (who by the way is a complete idiot) talked about how great the tariffs are and how they boosted the economy only considered lagging indicators. Of course, demand spiked, consumer spending spiked, earnings spiked because of the anticipated increase in economic costs to produce goods in China. Someone will have to pay for that cost. Short term demand spike can be seen in a rearview mirror with clarity.

Look at the leading indicators. Durable good orders are trending downward, yield, bonds, and other financial indicators of economic health are pointing downward. The yield curve inverted recently -- a telltale sign of recession, although this economic cycle is so out of wack, no one really knows what will happen. Consumer spending is showing signs of slowing down. Remember, it accounts for nearly 70% of the economic engine that drives GDP and growth. Consumer confidence is declining. Wages are stagnating and the economy is generating fewer jobs than expected.

Recession is coming. We're overdue for one. Trump's so-called "policy" will accelerate it.

To those who say "China is cheating us" I suggest you open a book. At this point, any book. Preferably any economic book. Yes, there are challenges, such as forced technology transfer and other policies that impact our core competency as a country but those issues can be resolved without blowing up the global economy. The private sector was well on the way toward solving them in fact. It's not one-sided either. China could well make an argument America, with its focus on manufacturing automation, is attempting to hurt China's core economic competency which is low-skill labor. Then again, I spend a lot of time over there. They are moving toward a service-based economy at a rapid pace. Within the next few years, China will be the worlds largest economy. We can benefit from it. Or we can do what Trump does.

Long post, sorry.
[doublepost=1567276600][/doublepost]

Good. Raise them until it’s to expensive to produce them there.

China’s been ripping off the US for decades. Their rise has been all due to THEFT of American businesses and forced tech transfers - work that every American has benefited to a company in some way gets transferred to China just to do business there, then China puts in a social credit system that could potentially decrease people’s social score if they buy an American product over a Chinese.

So American companies send their tech to China to do business in China and then China fines their people in social status for buying an iPhone over a Huawei.

Go get them Trump. Screw China.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Your perception of our trade relationship with China and of the Chinese approach to business is not even remotely in the realm of reality. I suggest you try to put aside your preconceived ideas and try to research the issue by consulting credible sources. I'll be happy to point you in the right direction.
[doublepost=1567276959][/doublepost]

I agree that they would *eventually* pass it off to consumers, but the uncertainty of the situation combined with Apple’s current margins, consumer’s price sensitivity, and Apple’s historical desire to set an “even” price and stick with it, would result in Apple eating the tariff for at least a year or two. Apple’s not a super reactionary company. Hopefully by the time apple would have enacted theses price increases the tariffs will be gone (and/or will have figured out some other workaround).

In reality, some of the tariffs will be absorbed by the supply chain as well. I see it every day. Plus, China has already responded by devaluating its currency. It's down at least 10% by now if not more. Factories look for ways to reduce cost. Retailers here are pushing pretty hard for it. Outside of China options are growing at a rapid pace. I personally know factories that have already set up operations in Vietnam, Malasia, etc.

But yes, consumers, Apple, and our economy will also be greatly impacted.

 

[Mercury7]

Starting this Sunday, Apple's AirPods, Apple Watch, headphones, some iMacs, HomePod, and other products will be impacted by a 15 percent tariff as part of the United States' ongoing trade dispute with China, reports Bloomberg.

The tariffs were entered into the Federal Register today and will go into effect on 12:01 a.m. local time on Sunday in Washington, D.C. for products entering the U.S. or being pulled from warehouses for use in the United States.

Apple devices set to be impacted include the Apple Watch and Apple Watch bands, AirPods, HomePod, some Beats headphones, and some iMacs. Bloomberg says that repair parts for iPhones could also be affected, as could the NAND flash storage used in iPhones.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier in August that he believes Apple will absorb most of the U.S. tariff costs on its devices "in the mid-short term" rather than raising prices for consumers. Apple has been expanding its production facilities in countries like India and Vietnam, which, in the long term, will diversify manufacturing beyond China and alleviate tariff concerns.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently met with U.S. president Donald Trump at Trump's Bedminster golf club, where Cook reportedly made a "good case" that tariffs would put Apple at a disadvantage with rivals like Samsung. "I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I'm thinking about it," Trump told reporters.

Apple in June also sent a letter to the Trump Administration urging against the tariffs because it would reduce Apple's contributions to the United States economy and weigh on its global competitiveness. Trump could still elect to delay the tariffs or exempt Apple products ahead of when they are set to go into effect, but recent tweets suggest that may be unlikely to happen.

Apple accessories like power adapters, cables, and cases are already subjected to an import tax at the current time, separate from the tariff set to hit new Apple products on Sunday.

This tariff won't immediately affect the iPhone, one of Apple's most popular devices that's responsible for a large portion of its revenue, until December 15 as tariffs on electronics like smartphones and laptop computers have been delayed so as to not impact the holiday shopping season.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues 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.

Article Link: 15% Tariff Hitting AirPods, Apple Watch, HomePod and More in the U.S. This Sunday

You’re welcome!

Thank you to all Trump voters.

[doublepost=1567277917][/doublepost]I support this 100%, America will be stronger and our companies will have far more diverse supply chains in the future, I certainly am happy to pay more to see that happen, all Americans should be happy imho

 

[truthertech]

There has been four of the over last year that impact bikes. The owner of the bike shop has no reason to lie to me about how much bikes have gone up over the last year. I am sure it wasn't all tariffs, just most of it was...

No, someone is lying. The tariff, on bikes from China, is 25% at most, so that $100 bike would be $125, if it was made in China and the manufacturer passed on the entire tariff increase, which not all are doing to remain price competitive as bike shops shift manufacture to other countries. A cheap bike made in China is just as easily made in Vietnam, etc. The extra $100 claimed is clearly a lie. Incidentally, the EU has imposed a tariff of 48% on bikes made in China to keep them from dumping cheap bikes in Europe.

 

[skitidetdu]

I love shopping apple stuff when I'm going to the US as I do twice a year in work with the difference in VAT but not so much anymore.

 

[Hieveryone]

Don't want to be a nagging Nelly, but you know, Obama had a trade deal with Asian nations outside of China that would have given us leverage against China. But Trump (and the left) axed that. Now Trump is being outmaneuvered like crazy by a guy he can't understand. But Xi gets him. Every time Trump hits him, he hits Trump right back where his strongest voters were. He buys his soybeans elsewhere, making other farmers very happy to be getting the prices Americans were getting. Meanwhile, Trumpland is exploding. He subsidizes farmers now like FDR!

A trade deal that lets china cheat us is no trade deal

 

[Sanlitun]

I’m sure your system is quite a bit better no?

There are a million problems with the Canadian system. When I was sick and on a waiting list for eye surgery all I did was look for alternatives in the USA. Paying cash would have been cheaper than the two years I was pretty much disabled. I also had to pay privately for an MRI on the suspicion I had MS. Because that was not an acute concern it was a 6 month wait.

Then there are the taxes and cost of living issues associated with living in Canada. Everything is taxed to pieces and our currency is devalued by 30% to help pay for all of it.

And if you have a complaint or there is malpractice you have no recourse as the system is protected from litigation. Everyone writes letters to their MP's begging for help.

In my case I would much rather have the extra money and the ability to pay premiums and control my care.

 

[ryuok]

At the worst it’s a short term pain. It’s very likely that the cost will be absorbed by Foxconn (China) or Apple. Think of the mid and long term. It’s time that China is stopped from stealing intellectual properties and having such an unfair advantage over trade. In addition these technological exports enables China to become the biggest tech-powered totalitarian regime the world has ever seen, and its trying to export the same system to other countries therefore undermining civil liberties of the free world.

 

[run1976]

A trade deal that lets china cheat us is no trade deal

It wasn’t with China. Had nothing to do with China. If anything it would have put pressure on China and given US companies incentives to do more business in other parts of Asia. How come people are so uninformed? It sometimes feels like we are at the brink of the end of a golden era and the uninformed take over. Like after the end of the roman empire when the dark ages followed and a lot of knowledge was lost for centuries. People idolize a know-nothing like Trump and scuff at the elites. Without the elites you people wouldn’t even have an iphone, a computer, healthcare... who do you think does the science that advances humanity? I’ll give you a clue. Never people like Trump who pride themselves that they don’t read. Unbelievable that even an apple forum is swamped by these low information crusaders.

 

[Hieveryone]

It wasn’t with China. Had nothing to do with China. If anything it would have put pressure on China and given US companies incentives to do more business in other parts of Asia. How come people are so uninformed? It sometimes feels like we are at the brink of the end of a golden era and the uninformed take over. Like after the end of the roman empire when the dark ages followed and a lot of knowledge was lost for centuries. People idolize a know-nothing like Trump and scuff at the elites. Without the elites you people wouldn’t even have an iphone, a computer, healthcare... who do you think does the science that advances humanity? I’ll give you a clue. Never people like Trump who pride themselves that they don’t read. Unbelievable that even an apple forum is swamped by these low information crusaders.

The only low information crusaders are those who don't know China is cheating us

 

[citysnaps]

I find it interesting that you know apples exact profit margins. Or you don’t and you’re pretending you do. I’d say the latter.

They’re published. I’d say it’s interesting and a shame you don’t take the time to read and become informed.

 

[JGIGS]

This is wrong. Even if you are in good health, it's a tremendous benefit. In the US, I'm paying USD $1400 per month in health insurance premiums whether I go to see a doctor or not. So, even if no one in my family goes to see a doctor in an entire year (which is, of course, unrealistic because kids and adults need at least a physical or two per year), we end up paying $16,800 per year in health insurance premiums. If we do go see a doctor, then we pay the full doctor's fee (negotiated with our health insurance plan) because our deductibles are $6,000 PER PERSON PER YEAR. So, in reality, we are paying much more than $16,800 per year. You don't see what a great benefit it is to have a universal health coverage without having to pay monthly premiums for the health insurance regardless of whether or not you go to doctors?
[doublepost=1567275898][/doublepost]
Our complaint was NEVER a strong Yuan. It was ALWAYS is weak YUAN.

I probably pay at least that much and probably more than you taxes and you also probably get better quality health care.

Portions of it may be free bit it’s not great quality. I had acute appendicitis went to emergency in the morning didn’t see a doctor till around 10pm. Family doctors in cities are over worked underpaid and general don’t seem to care much about there patients. Partly probably because it’s so affordable and people run to the doctor when they have a common cold. There are negatives to our health care system as well.

Either way the more we pay in tax and cost of goods offsets what you pay for health care.

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

Many CEOs also seem to be blaming their companies poorer performance on Tariffs.

Tariffs do have a negative affect but I think much of it is an excuse for the CEOs.
[doublepost=1567269525][/doublepost]

We need each other.

Touché. But from an economical standpoint, we DON’T need China. Everything was made here before Clinton sold us out to China.

 

[run1976]

The only low information crusaders are those who don't know China is cheating us

If you don’t know the history and how the dependance of US manufacturing from China came about starting as far back as the 70s than how will you learn from it? Screaming “China is cheating us” won’t Change a thing. And certainly not Apples or any other multinational companies view on China. I don’t share your opinion but if I did I would start trying to find out what went wrong and how to change it. I don’t see any reflection in your posts. But why would there be any. Your idol in the White House makes you believe reflection on things isn’t needed one tweet at a time...

 

[Shirasaki]

Ok, now I’m even starting to get confused(maybe that’s what you’re trying to do?). Again, none of that matters, when China doesn’t play by the rules. Wouldn’t make any difference.

How about this idea? We surround China with our allies, suppressing it strong enough so that it cannot do anything without negotiating with us? Both economically and politically?

Oh wait. We have businesses to do WITH Chinese. Ah snap. That’s tough now.

“But, but we can pull our business out of China!” “Yes we can but, we don’t have enough money to keep the company going. The market in USA is only so big.”

The key point is to not earn Chinese money. However, at this point, who can resist the money thrown away by so many riches in China? You keep saying China does not play the rules, but want to earn Chinese money? Get out of China completely, rally our allies to do the same, before bickering about “playing nicely with out rules”.

Taxing Americans doesn’t solve the problem. Standing up to China does. Let us know when you come up with a better idea.

And correct! We give them demands, and the tariffs back up those demands. As you just said, that’s how tariffs ‘work’.

Standing up to China solves what problem? China now has enough power to build a self sustained economy and cut off all foreign investment. How long that will last no one knows, but it is possible now. At that time, what will Tariff do? Will Trump provide education to Americans so that people can do manufacturing work locally, with standards like 12 hours a day at $12/hour? Or better yet, let Americans learn how to build advanced robots?

Sorry, but I just don’t see tariff solving the burning problem of America lacking highly scalable manufacturing capabilities, which is the core of this entire Apple products subject to tariff topic.

Eh... go ahead and vote in the socialists and we’ll all be speaking Chinese in a decade.

And making less money too.

Good try. We see you guys hate socialism. Now we just disguise socialism under the cover of capitalism.

Apple, Walmart and everyone else needs to show the tariff on the sales receipts a separate line item.

So when you by a $100 you can clearly see an item called "Trump's Tariff $15.00".

Then, when the midwest farmers see this on their Walmart receipts they will be in a confused state of shock thinking "But Trump said the Chinese pay the tariffs."

Seriously, if the tariff showed up as a line item you can bet the trade war would end in weeks.

That would be a fantastic idea.

 

[Sora]

President is doing a fantastic job

Said no one ever.
Personally, I want goods to get so expensive that only the wealthy can purchase them.
Trump needs to keep it up until basic iPhones are $2000+.

People learn through pain. That pain will change or just hurt. But either way - it needs to be felt.

Hopefully people start aligning their own socioeconomic status with their voting goals. It doesn’t matter that the stock market is going gangbusters if you don’t have any money to invest in it because you’re living paycheck to paycheck. It’s incredible how many people I speak to who cite the strong stock market - yet have $0 invested in it. Bless their hearts. lol

 

[pweicks]

They won't lose a cent on that. Consumers will pay the price. This article is the best example of it, for people who don't want to have a blindfold in front of their, that is.

If Apple is greedy enough to do that, then there’s plenty of other companies that sell phones at a quarter of their price. Nobody is making anyone buy an iPhone

 

[Hieveryone]

If you don’t know the history and how the dependance of US manufacturing from China came about starting as far back as the 70s than how will you learn from it? Screaming “China is cheating us” won’t Change a thing. And certainly not Apples or any other multinational companies view on China. I don’t share your opinion but if I did I would start trying to find out what went wrong and how to change it. I don’t see any reflection in your posts. But why would there be any. Your idol in the White House makes you believe reflection on things isn’t needed one tweet at a time...

If you aren't aware of what went wrong I'll fill you in once again:

China is cheating us. That's a big reason why I support Trump.

 

[pweicks]

Don't bother with reading their annual reports. Their margins, as the iPhone tops out, are down. They're trying to improve them with content and services.
[doublepost=1567275129][/doublepost]

Lol I’m not gonna believe that when their iPhones are also the most expensive they’ve ever been. Their price has doubled in less than ten years... Think about that. But if you wanna believe everything that Apple tells you, then don’t stop believin, buddy.

 

[drumcat]

Tariffs, no tariffs, whatever the case may be, my problem with understanding this president is that he is all over the place.

I don't know how our allies manage to make any sort of agreements with him when he changes his mind and contradicts himself constantly, all while alternately praising and berating their leaders. I don't know how this administration is able to formulate foreign policy.

Domestically, it's been a mixed bag.

It must be hard for Tim Cook to go into these meetings and be told there might be some exemptions for Apple and then have to check Twitter to see where Trump's mind is at for any given moment. What a way to have to do business.

I would love to see China brought to reckoning for their horrible trade practices and their unfettered theft of IP, to name but a couple of areas of concern. So it's kind of gratifying seeing a president get tough on China. But I don't know about Trump's approach. It's been a wild ride with this one. I don't know what to think.

I think he should be impeached.
I also think he has committed major crimes, including market manipulation recently.
I am also a big fan of getting hard on Chinese IP theft, so while I appreciate it, I’m also not in agreement that these tariffs are effective. They are just showy, peacock efforts that look tough, won’t work, and hurt Americans.
Start prosecuting companies, executives, and send a message individually.

It’s just like all the immigration stuff. It needs fixed, but no one prosecuted anyone hiring illegals. Why? Blame widely so no one can refute anything. Blame “China, Inc.” Blame “Mexico” instead of brown people. It’s all a terrible shell game.

Great post @GrumpyMom
[doublepost=1567290758][/doublepost]

Lol I’m not gonna believe that when their iPhones are also the most expensive they’ve ever been. Their price has doubled in less than ten years... Think about that. But if you wanna believe everything that Apple tells you, then don’t stop believin, buddy.

Falsely filing this stuff is a criminal offence, and would shave billions off their stock price. But, hey, you know better.