Apple Sees Major Decision on Tariffs
Just a few days after Apple made a pretty bold and drastic move in an attempt to avoid looming tariffs on its electronics imports, it sounds like the tech giant is not going to have to worry about those tariffs after all.
Earlier this week, Indian officials confirmed to The Times of India that Apple had transported five planes full of iPhones and other Apple products into the United States in order to avoid a new tariff, which was slated to take effect on Wednesday, April 9, at 12:01 a.m.
With major tariffs imposed on nations like China and India – where many of Apple's products and parts are made – Apple faced a pretty uncertain situation about its supply chain and prices going forward. However, Apple got some clarity on that this week.
According to a report from the New York Times, the Donald Trump administration has moved to exempt smartphones, computers and other electronic devices from most of the tariffs on China and other nations – a major win for Apple.
"The Trump administration published a rule late Friday night that appeared to exempt smartphones, computers and other electronics from most of the president’s punishing tariffs on China, giving tech companies like Apple and Dell a break from levies that threatened to upend their businesses and increase prices for consumers," the New York Times reported on Saturday.
Obviously, there is still a lot of uncertainty about how these tariffs will impact the global economy going forward, but this is a pretty significant turn of events for one of the companies that was greatly impacted by the tariffs.