The US is going to increase duties on Chinese products. Apple must be worried about this

trade war between US and China seems about to launch a new attack, and Manzana You must be very worried about this. The Joe Biden administration will impose significant tariff increases on goods, products and raw materials imported from the Asian giant. And the fear of possible reprisals would not be long in coming.

Reportedly Financial TimesThe White House will raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100%, up from 25% previously. For its part, the new tax will more than triple on lithium-ion batteries for electric and non-electric vehicles arriving from Asia. Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China will also triple, and tariffs on semiconductors and solar panels will double.

Some of these rate changes will be implemented starting this year, while others will take effect in 2025 and 2026. That being said, why should Apple care about this situation? After all, these taxes won’t affect them directly. The problem for the California-based company is that its dependence on China would make it the first target of potential retaliation against the United States.

This may sound a little radical, but it is not. Apple already found itself in a similar situation in 2018, when the US imposed tariffs on imports of more than 1,000 products from China. What also began with higher tariffs on steel and aluminum quickly spread to other categories. Since most of the production lines are installed in the territory of the Asian giant, Tim Cook himself was supposed to become a mediator in the situation.. The apple company’s CEO even had to meet with then-President Donald Trump to calmly approach the conflict.

Apple does not want to be at the center of a trade conflict between the US and China again

Apple was able to overcome early cases of this mess because Trump’s original measure did not apply to consumer electronics. As a result, mobile phones, computers and similar equipment were left out of the most problematic area. But the situation heated up again after Huawei’s veto in 2019.. In fact, in mid-2020, the Chinese government threatened to impose sanctions on US companies such as Boeing, Cisco, Qualcomm and Apple itself.

As if the trade war wasn’t enough, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Apple was one of many companies hit by the effects of the health emergency and the inability of factories in China to produce its devices at the desired pace.

However, the coronavirus ended up becoming something of an escape route for Cupertino residents. Starting in 2022, Apple will intensify efforts to mobilize the production of its products. outside China. India and Vietnam have become areas where the company has focused its efforts to diversify its product lines.

But that doesn’t mean Apple is ready to leave China. In 2022, it was estimated that 90% of the brand’s devices are produced on the territory of the Asian giant, and 98% of iPhones come from there. At the time, it was estimated that it would take the company about 8 years to move 10% of its mobile production outside of China. And although expansion into other countries has progressed steadily since then, The last thing Apple wants is to again be drawn into a commercial and diplomatic conflict between the United States and the Asian giant.. It will be interesting to see how this situation develops.