Apple's most expensive computer after tariff rebate
Over the weekend, the administration exempted some Chinese-made components used in the Mac Pro from tariffs. In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook thanked the administration for the exemption, which allows the company to assemble computers inside the United States.
"We deeply believe in the power of American innovation," Cook said in the statement. "That's why every Apple product is designed and engineered in the US, and is made up of parts of 36 states that support 450,000 jobs with American suppliers, and we want to continue growing here."
The news is the latest twist in the trade-war saga for Apple, which has seen its stock price fluctuate wildly with Trump's tweet about his negotiations with China. By the time an agreement with China is announced, many of Apple's products, including its iPhone, have to undergo new restrictions in December.
While many of the components in the Mac Pro still come from China, maintaining the Legislative Assembly in the United States could be a public relations victory for the president.
Nevertheless, the Mac Pro is a niche product compared with the iPhone, iPad, laptop, and watches. The lowest-end Mac Pro at the price of a Tesla Model 3 electric car starts at $ 6,000, and the high-end version with a 28-core processor can run above $ 35,000. This puts the computer far beyond the price range of most consumers, making it a tool for most businesses, requiring vast computing power.
The previous version of the Mac Pro, which was launched six years ago and recently discontinued, was also built at the same Flextronics plant in Austin. That model, a small black cylinder, ran into production problems, some of which Apple attributed to the device's thermal design.
Monday's news does not indicate the start of a sweeping shift for US manufacturing for Apple. Labor in China is still significantly cheaper, and China has built the infrastructure to serve large American companies. But analysts say that Mac Pro, U.S. It is expensive for extremely expensive products such as assemblies. Analysts say the iPhone assembly should be held in the US. It would be more difficult to move.
If Apple had moved its Mac Pro assembly to China, it might have faced tariffs on computers. For example, Apple will have to pay a 15 percent tariff on its iPhone in December. But special discounts for some components, such as circuit boards, may have replaced Apple's calculus. It is also in line with the wishes of President Trump, who has the power to change fees without charge and without oversight.
Apple’s move to Texas “doesn’t represent a shift in the mindset or a shift in momentum towards computer and electronics manufacturing tin the United States,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. He said U.S. companies still have tax incentives to shift manufacturing overseas, and China’s lax environmental and labor rights laws keep costs low. “Over the longer term we’re going to need much broader policy shifts to keep American high tech manufacturing jobs here,” he said.
Chad Bown, an economist at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, a nonprofit think tank, said that special treatment for some companies like Apple could hurt other U.S. outfits, allowing the White House to anoint winners and losers. The Trump administration has “turned this into an unfair playing field, where it’s all about who you know,” he said. “That’s a big difference from how the U.S. has historically conducted its trade policy,” he said.
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