Trump Goes After Tim Cook, Apple’s PR Win, What’s the Solution?
Hello everyone. We get back into the swings of things with iPhone production, India, and President Trump going after Tim Cook. Let’s jump right in.
Trump Goes After Tim Cook
Here’s the WSJ:
“President Trump fired new salvos in the global trade war on Friday, threatening a 50% tariff on imported goods from the European Union and new duties on iPhones and other smartphones made overseas.
Trump said the EU had been ‘very difficult to deal with’ on trade in a Friday morning social-media post. Less than a half hour earlier, he threatened Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, with a tariff of at least 25% on iPhones made overseas.
‘I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
‘If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.,’ the president wrote.
Later on Friday, in Oval Office comments, Trump said those tariffs will include ‘Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair.’ Trump appeared to be referring to companies that manufacture smartphones outside of the U.S. He added that the tariffs would likely be imposed in late June.”
The development that likely led to this latest battle was news of Apple ramping iPhone production in India. For an administration that has been pushing a narrative involving firms embracing U.S. manufacturing, reports of Apple increasing its bet on India for iPhone production likely didn’t go over well.
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The WSJ’s Sketchy iPhone Pricing Article, Does Apple Need Higher iPhone Pricing?, Does iPhone 16e Provide Pricing Clues?
Happy Monday. We will jump into today's update with a recent story from the WSJ regarding iPhone pricing. Let's jump right in.
The WSJ’s Sketchy iPhone Pricing Article
Here’s the WSJ:
“Apple is weighing price increases for its fall iPhone lineup, a step it is seeking to couple with new features and design changes, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company is determined to avoid any scenario in which it appears to attribute price increases to U.S. tariffs on goods from China, where most Apple devices are assembled, the people said.
The U.S. and China agreed Monday to suspend most of the tariffs they had imposed on each other in a tit-for-tat trade war. But a 20% tariff that President Trump imposed early in his second term on Chinese goods, citing what he said was Beijing’s role in the fentanyl trade, remains in place and covers smartphones.
Trump had exempted smartphones and some other electronics products from a separate ‘reciprocal’ tariff on Chinese goods, which will temporarily fall to 10% from 125% under Monday’s trade deal.
New iPhones set to be released in the fall include some design and format changes, including an ultrathin design, The Wall Street Journal has reported.”
Nothing found in this article makes me think the WSJ knows what Apple may or may not do with this year’s new flagship iPhones. The WSJ’s “sources” in the supply chain are not going to know Apple’s iPhone pricing strategy. Apple pricing rumors should be discounted in general as Apple is able to keep pricing information under wraps.
For the past few years, price increases have been rumored ahead of Apple’s busy fall release cycle.
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Apple and Tariffs (Part 2)
Hello everyone. The level of unknown surrounding the tariff situation continues to rise.
We continue our multi-day discussion on Apple and tariffs. Today’s update will keep us on Apple’s supply chain.
On our “to discuss” list for the rest of the week:
Pros and cons found with Apple passing tariff costs on to consumers.
More on what looks like a full-fledged game of who will blink first between the U.S. and China as 104% import tariffs go into effect.
Apple’s earnings power, and valuation implications, after considering both universal and reciprocal various tariffs.
Let’s jump right in.
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Apple and Tariffs (Part 1)
Hello everyone. We are going to take advantage of this daily newsletter’s format when it comes to analyzing Apple and tariffs. There will be a discussion that stretches across several updates. Today’s update will be “Part 1.”
My goal is to cover pretty much every nook and cranny that should be covered when it comes to Apple and tariffs. There is a lot of noise in terms of publications and people focusing on the wrong things. Accordingly, our discussion may have different focus areas compared to prevailing analysis circulating on social media.
For today’s discussion, we are going to start a bit big picture by laying out the situation. In the coming days, there will opportunity for us to go deeper on some points.
Let’s jump in.
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More on iPhone Tariffs and India, Tariff Engineering, Apple Fined for Protecting User Privacy
Today's Above Avalon Daily email contains the following stories:
More on iPhone Tariffs and India
Tariff Engineering
Apple Fined for Protecting User Privacy
Welcome to April. We are going to jump into today’s update with some follow-up to yesterday’s discussion. The update focuses on how iPhone production in India impacts Apple’s exposure to U.S. tariffs. We then turn to how Apple can pursue various tariff engineering mechanisms to avoid tariffs. The update concludes with more absurdity from European tech regulators.
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