Apple Asks US Govt. For More Tariff Exemptions

Apple has asked the President Donald Trump administration for more tariff exemptions on products that come from China, according to reports.

The company is asking for specific relief on parts for the iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch and parts for other products. The current tariff level is at 15 percent.

Apple has previously asked for, and gotten some, but not all, of the exemptions it wanted. The Trump administration gave the company 10 waivers, even after saying it wouldn’t do so. However, the remaining waivers were not approved.

Apple has requested more. The 11 new queries were sent to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Other products affected include the HomePod, Beats accessories, and other components like batteries for MacBooks and iPhones.

The company said it couldn’t find any source for the products outside of China that would meet the demand for products in the United States.

The decisions on exclusions are based on certain criteria: whether a product is only available in China; if it is strategically necessary or related to Chinese industrial programs; or whether the tariffs will “cause severe economic harm” to the company, according to Bloomberg.

Despite the U.S.-China trade war and increased competition from Huawei, Apple’s revenue losses in China have been tapering off.

Net sales in China reached $11.13 billion in the fourth quarter, a year-on-year decline of 2.4 percent. In June, the decline was 4.1 percent, and in March, 21.5 percent.

Analysts cautioned that without a 5G phone available yet, Apple could be looking at more declines as China changes over to the higher-speed networks.

On an earnings call on Wednesday (Oct. 30), Apple CEO Tim Cook said there were a number of reasons for the uptick, pointing to reduced trade tensions and new products being “extremely well received” in China.

“The things that we’ve done from a pricing and monthly payments point of view and trade-in — getting the trade-in program up and running — all of these things have had moved the dial,” Cook said.