Apple announced on Monday that it would continue to assemble its most powerful computer, the Mac Pro, in Texas. The announcement comes following a long-held rumor that the company would be moving its assembly process to China, where the rest of Apple’s products are assembled. The Mac Pro is Apple’s only piece of hardware to be assembled within the United States, though much of the company’s components are sourced domestically where possible. Looming threats of tariff raises on products coming into the United States from China threatened the production of the product within the United States, though Apple claims it has been working with the Trump Administration to come to an agreement on the problem.
Apple would not clarify in its press release announcing the confirmation, but it thanked a federal product exclusion on tariffs for certain components that must be imported to build the machines. As Apple has apparently been in talks with the Trump Administration to come to an agreement since the summer, the administration could have easily granted Apple an exclusion on tariffs in order to incentivize the company to maintain its production within the United States. Beyond that, the company has been working to come through with its promise to invest as much as $350 billion in the United States economy over the next four years. Its investment in domestic suppliers and tech components will boost that, as well as its investments in the job market and new construction on the recently announced Apple Campus in Austin, Texas.
Threat Of Tariffs May Impact Future Retail Prices On Apple Products
The company announced its latest version of the Mac Pro at its annual Worldwide Development Conference back in June. The computer, which is the company’s most powerful, retails starting at $5999 and is built to handle the highest level of operation—with state of the art computer processing units, graphics, hard drive capacity, and other optional features that make it one of the most powerful computers on the market. Apple has been assembling its Mac Pro in Austin, Texas since 2013, though other Apple products are assembled in China in order to cut costs that keep the retail prices as low as possible. All other elements of Apple’s products, however, are made domestically.
Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on goods imported from China posed a threat to Apple’s production costs just before the company was set to release the iPhone 11 and other new products. The most recent round of tariff raises—which targeted consumer goods—was set to raise the retail prices on products imported from China just before the holiday season. Companies that import a large amount of their products from China grew worried, as it would force them to raise their prices or suffer major financial losses just before the fourth quarter. However, Trump amended the announcement in August, delaying the raise in tariffs until December 15—if they come into fruition at all. The tariff threat is part of the longstanding trade war between the Trump Administration and China, though other countries’ exports are also involved in the issue.
