Since Donald Trump announced the customs duties on April 2, there has been panic among companies that have their products manufactured in countries affected by these customs duties. China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Europe, the world is even including penguins—strangely, except for Russia, which is certainly an oversight.
Apple is trying to gain time by importing massively
One multinational fears the worst: Apple. Tim Cook has tried to replay the score of Donald Trump's first term, where he managed to secure customs exemptions, but this time nothing has worked for the moment. The US president's tariffs are so sweeping that it's still difficult to gauge their impact, but analysts aren't optimistic.
This is especially true since Donald Trump has added fuel to the fire by threatening to double the tariffs imposed on China, bringing them to 104% (!) if Beijing did not immediately abandon the customs duties on imports of American products.
In any case, Apple has prepared for the worst, importing iPhones and other products from India at the end of March, according to the Times of India. Five planeloads of devices made the transit to the United States; therefore, they will not be subject to the new Trump tariffs (an initial tier of 10% has been in effect since April 5, the remainder from April 9).
Apple, which also reportedly imports heavily from China, has built up as much inventory as possible to avoid raising the prices of its products too quickly in the United States. But that's taking a step back: there will come a time when the warehouses will be completely empty, and a decision will have to be made.
As Mark Gurman summarized, Apple has several options to limit the impact of the Trump tariffs: demanding price cuts from its suppliers, a solution that could have a limited effect. The manufacturer's subcontractors are already under maximum pressure...
The company could also absorb some of the additional costs by cutting into its 45% margin. But it seems impossible to avoid a price increase while waiting for the manufacturer to further diversify its production line. Which cannot be done overnight.
Source: Times of India
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