Apple asks US government to waive tariffs

Apple has asked the United States government to waive the planned import tax on products that manufacturers have made in China. The US government wants companies to pay a 25 percent tax for this.

The levy would affect Apple and competitors much less, argues the manufacturer in a letter to the government. Chinese producers should pay the import duty, but they have little market share in the US. Other competitors such as Samsung do have a larger market share, but they do not have their goods made in China and are therefore not subject to the levy.

Apple claims it can pay less tax to the US government if the tax goes through. The US government has already imposed tariffs on imports in the trade dispute with China, but so far this has not affected Apple products. If the import duty continues, the manufacturer will lose more money to put products in American stores. As a result, it has to accept that it makes less profit per product or raise prices.

In the meantime, Apple would also consider having part of the iPhone production take place outside of China. Apple would consider India and Vietnam as alternatives. That would not only be because of the possible tariffs, but also because of rising wages in China. The levies should come into effect by the end of this month.