The new import tariffs on as much as USD 200 billion of Chinese goods arriving in the US imposed by the Trump Administration have spared smart watches, fitness trackers and other goods made by Apple and competitors including Fitbit. The final list of products affected by the new tariffs of 10 percent until the end of the year, then 25 percent, affects nearly half of all Chinese imports to the US but not the iPhone, Mac Mini, AirPods headphone or Apple Watch, as the company previously feared. Bloomberg had earlier reported the exemption, revealing that the product codes covering Apple and Fitbit products were not on the list.
Earlier this month, Apple sent the Trump Administration a letter warning that a “wide range” of its products would be hit by the proposed tariffs after wireless goods were included on a preliminary list released in July. In a 05 September letter to US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Apple said the tariffs would "divert our resources and disadvantage Apple compared to foreign competitors" and lead to higher "consumer prices, lower overall US economic growth and other unintended economic consequences."Trump replied with a tweet urging Apple to build more manufacturing plants in the US. He wrote: "Start building new plants now. Exciting!" The US president announced the latest round of tariffs in a statement, saying: “If China takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries, we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately USD 267 billion of additional imports.”
