What you need to know
- The U.S. Trade Represenatitive's office has denied Apple a reprieve on import tariffs on five Mac Pro components.
- One of those components is the optional wheels.
- The news follows Apple saying it would make the redesigned Mac Pro in Texas.
Following the news that Apple would make the redesigned Mac Pro in the U.S., the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office has denied Apple relief for tariffs on five components designed for the computer. One of those components is the optional wheels users can attach to the Mac Pro to easily transport it around an office.
According to Bloomberg, some of the components that weren't granted a reprieve from the 25 percent tariffs include a main circuit board, power adapter, charging cable, and a cooling system for the Mac Pro's processor.
The USTR said the five exclusion requests were denied because Apple couldn't prove the tariffs would "cause severe economic harm" to the company or other U.S. interests.
Earlier this summer, Apple argued that it had no other options for sourcing these parts. This prompted an outcry from President Trump on Twitter, who said that Apple would not be given any tariff waivers. Trump later said that he and Apple would work it out.
Toward the end of September, Apple then announced that the redesigned Mac Pro would be made at a facility in Austin, Texas — the very same plant Apple has made the Mac Pro since 2013. At the time, Apple thanked the current administration for their support and revealed it had received a product exclusion.
Several major Apple products have been affected by the Trump administration's tariffs against products exported from China. The Apple Watch, AirPods, and iMac were hit by 15 percent tariffs beginning in September, while the iPhone and iPad will be affected in December.
Announced at WWDC, the redesigned Mac Pro features a starting price of $5,999 and comes equipped with an eight-core Xeon processor, 32GB of RAM, and a Radeon Pro 580X video card. Apple hasn't when the Mac Pro will be available but it's expected to launch before the end of 2019.
