US Tariffs May Hit Apple, FitBit and Sonos

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The $200 billion U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods may have their first targets, a report from Reuters suggests. Apple Watch, FitBit and other health trackers, Sonos streaming music speakers and accessories and peripherals built in China will likely be affected, according to government rulings.

The specific devices, which could face a 10 percent tariff, include the original Apple Watch (but seemingly not more recent models), Fitbit Charge, Charge HR and Surge and Sonos Play:3, Play:5 and SUB speakers. The Apple Watch is an odd choice, as Apple no longer sells the Series 0 model.

The report says that the wearables and speakers fall under "data transmission machines" in a list of over 6,000 U.S. tariff codes released earlier this month.

We also looked into how this move in the trade war may affect your next PC build or other tech-related purchases. U.S. PC companies were unaware if the tariffs would hit them. However, when Sonos filed to go public earlier this month, it said that “the imposition of tariffs and other trade barriers, as well as retaliatory trade measures, could require us to raise the prices of our products and harm our sales.” And that may be exactly what happens here.

According to Reuters, companies who suspect their products have tariff codes on the list should either apply for an exclusion, try to have their devices classified differently, or fight to get the code dropped during the current public comment period.

The list that went into effect earlier this month include transistors and capacitors, printed circuit boards, flat panel displays and LEDs, so there's a wide variety of other tech and components that could potentially be affected.

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

  • Jake Hall
    Good
    Reply
  • justin.m.beauvais
    You mean Apple users will be asked to pay EVEN MORE for their devices. Gosh, if only Apple could afford to lower the cost of their devices and just make a little less money to make things easier on their customers. It is just too bad that they couldn't POSSIBLY afford to do that.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    More tariffs are need to get a better balance in terms of trade , it will take a few years , but the US is back in the game!
    Reply
  • therealduckofdeath
    Samsung will be laughing all the way to the bank, because that's where Apple will have to move back to to retain some of their ridiculous profit margins.
    Also, thinking that you as a citizen will gain anything from a trade war is so much denial it should be a crime. You will pay 30%+fees more for everything, your employer will sell 30% less of stuff, plus the coverage on the fees on the other side. You, the employee is the first to pay for that by getting a pink slip. #TRE45ON
    Reply
  • Martell1977
    21159130 said:
    Samsung will be laughing all the way to the bank, because that's where Apple will have to move back to to retain some of their ridiculous profit margins.
    Also, thinking that you as a citizen will gain anything from a trade war is so much denial it should be a crime. You will pay 30%+fees more for everything, your employer will sell 30% less of stuff, plus the coverage on the fees on the other side. You, the employee is the first to pay for that by getting a pink slip. #TRE45ON

    The tariff's wont last long, it's just a tactic to get China to stop abusing the U.S. The current trade deficits are unsustainable and this has been a long time coming, it's just that other president's didn't have the strength or interest in correcting the issue. This "trade war' is over 30 years in coming, I'm just glad it's not a weak politician leading the correction.

    With the trade imbalance, China has a lot more to lose than we do. With Chinese made products being less cheap to produce, the odds are that companies will being moving manufacturing back to the U.S. or other, friendlier territories. China can negotiate for fair, free trade or bleed off jobs and profits.
    Reply
  • stdragon
    China has been devaluing the Yuan in order to remain competitive. In other words, as paradoxical as it might seem, you really don't want a strong US dollar when competing for exporting goods (because you're too expensive to buy from).

    Also, it takes a lot of time for businesses start to build new factories and hire from the US again. It's not something where you create a policy and immediately there's a return based on it. Good news, we're already seeing manufacturing brought back into the US, but again, that could take YEARS if not longer before any of it comes online to start making product for internal consumption and exportation.
    Reply
  • f0xnewz
    @THEREALDUCKOFDEATH how exactly do you think the US go 20 Trillion in debt? Obama might have had a $20,000 "hot dog" party but it would take a lot of wieners to get to 20 Trillion. Maybe its been 40 years of trade deficits. US taking a loss while politicians take a bribe.

    God emperor Trump has been talking about this for 20 years, you know back when Hollywood and the liberals were in love with him? Here is a liberal source you might trust. https://www.npr.org/2017/01/20/510680463/donald-trumps-been-saying-the-same-thing-for-30-years
    Reply
  • Martell1977
    21159235 said:
    China has been devaluing the Yuan in order to remain competitive. In other words, as paradoxical as it might seem, you really don't want a strong US dollar when competing for exporting goods (because you're too expensive to buy from).

    Also, it takes a lot of time for businesses start to build new factories and hire from the US again. It's not something where you create a policy and immediately there's a return based on it. Good news, we're already seeing manufacturing brought back into the US, but again, that could take YEARS if not longer before any of it comes online to start making product for internal consumption and exportation.

    Some companies are upgrading and reactivating factories that they shuttered when they moved to China(This is currently happening where I live, a glass plant closed over a decade ago, but it is being upgraded and should be reopening in a year. Creating 1,200 jobs). But yeah, it will still take some time. For those needing new factories, it will take much longer, but the benefits will still be there after the tariffs are gone. With international shipping costs no longer a factor and things like labor costs in better balance, moving some things back will still be a good idea.

    The companies that will be hurt are ones that have business models specifically dependent on taking advantage of the trade imbalances.

    Intel was pretty smart as they have their manufacturing spread out and not dependent on any one country.
    Reply
  • mossberg
    21159130 said:
    Also, thinking that you as a citizen will gain anything from a trade war is so much denial it should be a crime. You will pay 30%+fees more for everything, your employer will sell 30% less of stuff, plus the coverage on the fees on the other side. You, the employee is the first to pay for that by getting a pink slip. #TRE45ON

    Tell that to the steel mill workers that are going back to work as a result of these tariffs. It will balance itself out, it will just take time. We have been taken advantage of for far too long.
    Reply
  • phobicsq
    Apple needs to be hit. They already charge way more for their average products while using cheap labor and poor working conditions of foreign workers. And I'm sure their customers will be fine paying the extra cost by these tarrifs.
    Reply