After a week of fears, uncertainty, and doubt, President Trump dropped a surprise on Saturday that will be music to Tim Cook’s ears: All of Apple’s products are exempt from the 125 percent tariffs placed this week on Chinese imports. That follows a 90-day pause on tariffs on all other countries.
The exemption covers a wide variety of tech products, including smartphones, laptops, hard drives, and, processors, as well as headphones and smart speakers. That’s basically everything Apple sells, with the possible exception of some accessories such as Apple Pencil and Magic Mouse. For now, it seems that it will be business as usual at Apple Park, with no immediate concern of rising prices.
However, the situation could change at any moment. Just this week, Trump raised tariffs, paused tariffs, threatened more tariffs, took aim at TSMC by threatening a 100 percent tax, and exempted basically anything with a microchip. So Apple’s reprieve may be temporary. Trump’s moves have been unpredictable—including Saturday’s exemption—so it’s unclear what could happen next. For example, a 20 percent “fentanyl” tariff seemingly remains on China’s imports for all products, and U.S. commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said smartphones and other consumer electronics may still be hit with separate tariffs. So, Trump could decide to levy further tariffs or alter the list of exempted products.
But for now, the fears around price hikes, especially with the iPhone 17 just months away, have calmed.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.