US tariffs to hit Apple products

SAN FRANCISCO: A wide range of Apple Inc products including the Apple Watch would be affected by the proposed US tariffs on Chinese goods, the company told US trade officials, but gave no sign of an impact on its iPhone cash cow. Apple did not disclose specific revenues for most of the affected products, but of those the Apple Watch may be the biggest seller. It brought in about $6.1 billion in revenue last year, according to an estimate from analyst firm Bernstein. That represents a small portion of Apple’s $229 billion in overall sales. Apple laid out the impact on its products of the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in an unsigned letter it submitted to US officials as part of a public comment drive.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said he has tariffs on an additional $267 billion in Chinese goods “ready to go on short notice if I want”. Cellphones, the biggest US import from China, have so far been spared, but would be hit if Trump activates the new $267-billion tariff list. AirPods headphones, some of Apple’s Beats headphones and its new HomePod smart speaker also face levies as part of the proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, according to the letter submitted on Wednesday.  

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2018.

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