Thursday, 28 Mar 2024

Apple's most expensive computer Mac Pro will be US-made after tariff exemption

WASHINGTON (WASHINGTON POST) – Apple’s top-of-the-line computer will be assembled in Texas, the company announced Monday (Sept 23), a manufacturing decision that got caught up in the trade war with China.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing Apple, which makes the vast majority of its products in China, to build its products in the US.

“Apple will not be given Tariff waiver, or relief, for Mac Pro parts that are made in China. Make them in the USA, no Tariffs!” he tweeted in July.

Over the weekend, the administration exempted certain Chinese-made components used in the Mac Pro from tariffs.

In a statement, Apple chief executive Tim Cook thanked the administration for the exemption, which allow the company to assemble the computer inside the US.

“We believe deeply in the power of American innovation,” Cook said in the statement. “That’s why every Apple product is designed and engineered in the US, and made up of parts from 36 states, supporting 450,000 jobs with US suppliers, and we’re going to continue growing here.”

The news is the latest twist in Apple’s trade war saga that has seen the company’s stock price fluctuate wildly with Trump’s tweets about his negotiations with China.

Many of Apple’s products, including its iPhone, are expected to see new restrictions this December, unless a deal with China is announced.

While many of the components in the Mac Pro still come from China, the move to the US could be a public relations win for the president.

Still, the Mac Pro is a niche product compared to the iPhone, iPad, laptops and watches.

The lowest end Mac Pro starts at around US$6,000 (S$8,266) and the high-end versions, with 28-core processors, could run upwards of US$35,000, about the price of a Tesla Model 3 electric car.

That puts the computer far outside the price range of most consumers, making it a tool mostly for businesses that require vast computing power.

The previous version of the Mac Pro, which launched six years ago and was recently discontinued, was also built in the US.

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