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

Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.1 With Apple Intelligence: New Features, Release Date, and More

Thursday October 10, 2024 8:26 am PDT by
iOS 18.1 will be released to the public in the coming weeks, and the software update introduces the first Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone. Below, we outline when to expect iOS 18.1 to be released. iOS 18.1: Apple Intelligence Features Here are some of the key Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 beta so far: A few Siri enhancements, including improved understanding...
16 pro

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Introduce These 5 New Features

Friday October 11, 2024 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 16 series was released just a few weeks ago, there are already many rumored features for the iPhone 17 models, and especially for the Pro models. Below, we recap five key new features rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max so far: 24MP front camera for all iPhone 17 models: All four iPhone 17 models will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according...
top stories 12oct2024

Top Stories: iOS 18.1 Release Date, New Macs Incoming, and More

Saturday October 12, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
Things are firming up for a big Halloween week for Apple, with the company's next operating system updates reportedly coming early in the week and hardware launches coming a few days later. Ahead of those hardware launches, we've recently seen what appears to be one of the most significant physical product leaks in years, while some of the new features in Apple's recent software updates have ...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple's Shocking M4 MacBook Pro Leak

Friday October 11, 2024 8:27 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the unprecedented leak of Apple's M4 MacBook Pro models and the company's rumored move to more staggered hardware and software releases. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Multiple leaks surrounding Apple's unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip recently surfaced online. The leaks began with unboxin...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.0

Thursday October 10, 2024 12:10 pm PDT by
Apple today stopped signing iOS 18.0, preventing iPhone users who have upgraded to iOS 18.0.1 from downgrading to iOS 18. Apple released iOS 18.0.1 a week ago on October 3. It is not unusual for Apple to stop signing older versions of iOS within a week or two after a new version of iOS is released. When Apple stops signing an update, it can no longer be installed on an iPhone due to a...
ios 18 1 make primary

iOS 18.1 Includes Option to Set 'Primary' Email Address and Change iCloud Email

Friday October 11, 2024 3:55 pm PDT by
In iOS 18.1, there is a new option to set a "Primary" email address in the Settings app, which means it is easier to change the main email address associated with your Apple Account. The Primary email address is the one that is visible to other people when collaborating on and sharing documents, sending calendar invites, and more. Apple did not previously make it easy to change an Apple...
iPad mini review thumb

iPad Mini 7 Coming Next Month: What to Expect

Tuesday October 8, 2024 6:16 am PDT by
Rumors strongly suggest Apple will release the seventh-generation iPad mini in November, nearly three years after the last refresh. Here's a roundup of what we're expecting from the next version of Apple's small form factor tablet, based on the latest rumors and reports. Design and Display The new iPad mini is likely to retain its compact 8.3-inch display and overall design introduced with...
space black mbp

Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left in a Bar

Monday October 7, 2024 3:03 pm PDT by
Alleged photos and videos of an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip continue to surface on social media, in what could be the worst product leak for Apple since an employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype at a bar in California in 2010. The latest video of what could be a next-generation MacBook Pro was shared on YouTube Shorts today by Russian channel Romancev768, just...
When Will Apple Launch More M4 Macs Feature

Will Apple Release M4 Macs Soon? Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

Thursday October 10, 2024 6:22 am PDT by
Apple often releases new Macs in the fall, but we are still waiting for official confirmation that the company has similar plans this year. We're approaching the middle of October now, and if Apple plans to announce new Macs before the holidays, recent history suggests it will happen this month. Here's what we know so far. As of writing this, it's been 220 days since Apple released a new...

Top Rated Comments

JPack Avatar
60 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
60 months ago
The donation of 2 million masks probably didn't hurt Apple's case.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
60 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
60 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
60 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
60 months ago
Hopefully apple passes along these savings to the customers....lol
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)