As it prepares for a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods, the Trump administration is planning to exclude a product class that includes wearables like fitness trackers and wireless headphones, Bloomberg reports, citing two unnamed sources.
The product code covering those devices was included on a preliminary list of target product classes released by the Trump administration in July.
Apple has been a key player in the brewing trade war with China. Millions of iDevices are exported from manufacturers in China each year, and Chinese government officials have explicitly suggested that those products could be casualties in the trade war.
The U.S. government could announce the new round of 10% tariffs on Chinese goods as soon as Monday, Bloomberg reports, again citing unnamed sources.
The chief concern in the tech industry may be the way China would respond to the 10% tariffs, as Chinese officials are using increasingly tough language. Perhaps the biggest fear for Apple is the possibility that China would interfere with, or place taxes on, the vast web of tech companies–many in China–that supply the parts for the company’s cash cow, the iPhone.
A Wall Street Journal report Sunday says China is considering restricting sales of materials, equipment, and parts from Chinese suppliers to U.S. manufacturers’ supply chains. “Such restrictions could even apply to Apple Inc.’s iPhones, which are assembled in the mainland, officials said, without elaborating,” the report says.
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