Roger Fingas
Despite a recent petition, Apple won't get any tariff exemptions for Mac Pro parts made in China, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday.
"Apple will not be given Tariff wavers [sic], or relief, for Mac Pro parts that are made in China," Trump stated on Twitter. "Make them in the USA, no Tariffs!"
Earlier this month, Apple reportedly asked for relief from duties as high as 25%. That request is still believed to be in a public comment period ahead of review, but Trump's opposition could signal approval is unlikely.
In contrast with the 2013 Mac Pro, which was assembled in Austin, Texas, the 2019 model is being manufactured primarily in China. If proposed tariff hikes go through — escalating the U.S.-China trade war — Apple will either have to accept lower profit margins or pass the costs along to shoppers. That's a particular problem with the new Pro, which will start at $5,999 when it ships this fall and easily crack the tens of thousands for high-end configurations.
The base model will be equipped with an eight-core Intel Xeon processor, 32 gigabytes of RAM, and a Radeon Pro 580X video card. At the opposite end buyers will be able to get a 28-core, 2.5-gigahertz Xeon chip, 1.5 terabytes of RAM, and a Radeon Pro Vega II Duo.
Apple has been a vocal critic of both past and potential tariffs, suggesting their application could "tilt the playing field" in favor of competing vendors. Some Apple accessories are already subject to extra import costs.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
77 Comments
There is another alternative: Redesign the damned thing with parts that both can be sourced in the US, and at the same time make the machine more flexible in terms of entry configs (that many have requested), and to use standard memory, disk and graphics cards more readily available. That would also broaden the market for it.
ITMFA.
It’s unacceptable that Apple should be caught so unprepared when this President made his intentions very clear about trade with China before and after the election. Apple should’ve been making plans for alternative suppliers and had those plans in place by now. It’s just plain tunnel vision.