Tim Cook Warns That China Tariffs Will Make It Harder For Apple To Compete With Samsung

The escalating trade war between the US and China will make it more difficult for Apple to take on Samsung. This was the message Tim Cook sent to US President Donald Trump when they had dinner last Friday, according to the President.

In particular, the iPhone maker will have to pay new tariffs which will take effect starting September 1 as most of its products are manufactured in China; meanwhile, Samsung can avoid that additional expense because its production is placed in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, as well as other countries.

On Sunday, the President of the US told reporters that:

From September 1, a new round of tariffs will be imposed on products imported from China, which will raise electronics prices by 10 percent. As stated by Reuters, this will impact on the Apple Watch and AirPods. And while Apple’s iPhone, iPads, and MacBooks won’t be affected by the new tariffs, they may be under another one set to be introduced on December 15.

At the same time, Trump calls for Apple to manufacture its devices in the United States. The company conducts most of its R&D in the country but assembles its products abroad. As in Trump’s tweet, the president seemed to have had this preoccupation before his dinner with Cook, saying that he was having dinner with Cook and the firm would spend a lot of money for the country.

Last year, the US signed a trade deal with South Korea where electronics aren’t affected by tariffs. Samsung places its production facilities across the world, in China, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, etc. Nevertheless, the company has reduced its dependence on China as it closed two phone production plants last year.