Last week, Apple requested President Trump for tariff exclusion for some of the parts that it needs to import for the 2019 Mac Pro. However, the request was publicly rejected by Trump in a tweet. During its Q3 2019 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple wants to continue making the Mac Pro in the United States.
Below is what Tim Cook said during the earnings call:
“We’ve been making the Mac Pro in the US. We want to continue to do that. So we’re working and investing currently in capacity to do so, because we want to continue to be here”.
The 2013 trash can Mac Pro was assembled by Apple in factory in Texas. However, the company faced a lot of production hurdles which many believed was the reason for it to go back to China for manufacturing the 2019 Mac Pro.
Due to the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China though, Apple would have to pay as much as 25% duty on certain components it would have to import for the Mac Pro. This is a substantial amount which is why Apple was looking for a waiver. It is unclear if Apple intends to set up a factory to eventually build the 2019 Mac Pro in the US.
There’s also no clarity on whether Apple would be adjusting the final pricing of the 2019 Mac Pro depending on whether it has to pay the U.S. government any kind of import duties or not.
