Trump’s Trade Talk Takes Toll: Apple Chargers to Cost More in US

iPhone XR is Apple’s so-called affordable iPhone this year. 

(Photo: @2shar/The Quint)

US President Donald Trump, on Friday 10 May decided to raise duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese products to 25 percent, from the previous 10 percent. This marks the last escalation in the ongoing trade war between the two largest economies of the world.

China, on Monday, 13 May further announced that it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of US imports in retaliation to the US decision.

So far, the trade war has not affected hardware companies as much as it should have, since US hardware makers are hugely reliant on trans-pacific trade.

Tech companies have also been able to avoid this, since most of the tariffs have not been put on complete units, they have instead focused on unbundled components that is unlikely to affect the end customer, The Verge reported. Until now.

The fact that the price hasn’t yet hiked for any accessory or phone unit yet, doesn’t mean they are unaffected. In September, Apple had sent a letter the to US Trade Representative saying how it could be affected with the ongoing trade war. It pleaded for changes before the final codes were implemented, leading to some high-profile categories on the list to be exempted, like the Apple AirPods or Apple Watch.

However, what was left was the codes for Apple chargers, adapters, cables and cords. The same is true for iPhone cases and iPad leather covers - these things will be taxed at 25 percent from now on, according to The Verge report.

Apple has been bearing the cost so far, since the chargeers and cables are selling at the same $70 cost on US websites.

(With inputs from AP and The Verge.)