New US tariffs on Chinese imports spare Apple Watch, AirPods

In a huge relief to Apple and its investors, Apple’s smart watch, smart speaker and AirPods are not among the products that will be affected by the Trump administration’s latest tariffs on Chinese imports, the media reported.

Some Apple products, including its MacMini, will still be affected, CNBC reported on Monday, citing a list of products that will be affected.

Apple had feared that US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would affect several of its products, including the Apple Watch, AirPods, and adapters and chargers for a large number of products.

The tech giant, therefore, sent a letter to the US Trade Representative asking the office to spare its products.

The Trump’s administration’s proposed 10 per cent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods is set to come into effect later in September, increasing to 25 per cent at the end of 2018, a move that will sharply escalate the American trade war with Beijing.

The administration announced on Monday that the additional tariffs which would take effect from September 24, were on top of penalties enacted earlier in 2018 on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, CNN reported.

Taken together, it means roughly half of the products that China sells to the US each year will be hit by American tariffs.