The US government has given Apple a reprieve from tariffs on 10 items, including a power supply and a logic board, that are imported from China. The Office of the US Trade Representative granted Apple exemptions on its Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2 and various internal components, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The exclusions cover a time period from September 2018 to August 2020, and the US will refund tariffs already paid. The exempted goods were among the USD 200 billion worth of Chinese imports first targeted for tariffs in September 2018.
The exclusions do not apply to other Apple items facing tariffs later this year, such as the Apple Watch, iPhones or AirPods, although the company may seek more exemptions in the future.
The value of the exemptions could not be determined, the paper said. The imported parts are subject to tariffs of 25 percent of their value, rising to 30 percent from 15 October.
Five other Apple exemption requests, including power and data cables and a circuit board, are still under review, according to the USTR.In July, Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts that Apple was seeking the exclusions so it could continue assembling some Mac Pros in the US as it began doing with a version launched in 2013. Various parts for the Mac Pro are made in China.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment further. In seeking individual exclusions, the company said, "there are no other sources for this proprietary, Apple-designed component."
In total, the USTR granted exceptions on more than 400 items, primarily applications that had been filed on earlier tranches of tariffs.
