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Apple Inc., which has lost a fifth of its value since October in the tech market, is about to suffer another setback after US President Donald Trump suggested that tariffs of 10 % can be applied to mobile phones, like the iPhone, and laptops made in China.
The company is already confronted with information that suppliers are reducing their forecasts and that the new iPhone models introduced in September are not selling as well as expected. Trump's comments to the Wall Street Journal that it could include Apple's flagship product in a new round of tariffs on imports from China is another blow for CEO Tim Cook.
"Maybe, maybe it depends on the rate," said the president, referring to mobile phones and laptops. "I mean, I can earn 10%, and people could bear it very easily." Apple's share fell about 1.6% in the extended trading Monday after the comments.
The United States is expected to increase import duties on goods from China for an amount of about $ 200 billion, from 10% on January 1 to 25%. The vast majority of iPhones and other Apple products are built in China and exported around the world. Apple could not be contacted for comment.
Some badysts said the comments could rattle investors. Consumers being "clearly price-sensitive" and the average selling price of an iPhone reaching nearly $ 800, "the last thing that Cook and investors want to see is the addition of additional rates to iPhones and an impact on the engines of demand at this crucial stage of the company's growth, "said Daniel Ives, an badyst at Wedbush Securities, wrote Monday in a note.
The price of an iPhone ranges from $ 449 to $ 1,449 in the United States, including older models such as the iPhone 7 sold by Apple.
The shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the largest badembler of iPhone, slipped about 1% in Taiwan and lost about 40% this year. Inventec Corp., which supplies Apple and other US technology companies, fell 4.3%, reaching its lowest level in more than a year.
So far, Apple's most lucrative devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, have been excluded from US rates. Earlier this year, Apple announced that products like Apple Watch and AirPod would be affected before the United States declared that it would not impose any tax on these products. Nevertheless, the company warned in September that other items, such as the Mac mini, the Apple Pencil stylus, as well as some cables and cases, could be damaged.
The company has manufactured a small percentage of older models of iPhone in Brazil and India in recent years, partly to avoid local taxes on imported products. Trump has repeatedly suggested that Apple should entrust the manufacture of iPhone to the United States.
Early in his career at Apple, Cook answered questions about increasing manufacturing in the United States by saying that skills learned in China were more conducive to manufacturing the company's products. However, over the last few months, he has changed his point of view by stating in an interview this year: "It's not true that the iPhone is not made in the United States" . Some components, such as the smartphone's glbad cover, are made in the United States and shipped for badembly in China.
During his almost two-year tenure, Trump has met numerous times with other technology leaders and privately at the White House.
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