President Donald Trump recently ordered a 10% tariff on an additional $300 billion in goods imported from China. The new tariffs would significantly affect Apple products, most of which are made in China. More specifically, the new tariffs would affect products like the iPhone, iPad, Macs, as well as Apple Watches, AirPods, and other accessories.

The new tariffs are set to hit the Apple Watch and AirPods on September 1, while the tariffs for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will hit on December 15. And that’s not good timing for Apple, considering the company is expected to launch new iPhones and a Mac next month.

Trump could, however, reconsider the tariffs for Apple (via Bloomberg). Apple CEO Tim Cook and Trump discussed the new tariffs over dinner or Friday night, with Trump claiming that Cook made a “very compelling” argument for Apple’s case. Tim Cook apparently argued that it’s harder for Apple to compete with Samsung because the latter doesn’t have to pay a lot of the tariffs as it builds products in countries like Vietnam and South Korea (as well as China, of course).

“It’s tough for Apple to pay tariffs if it’s competing with a very good company that’s not,” Trump said.

The tariffs would obviously affect Apple’s profits from the iPhone and other products unless the cost of tariffs is passed on to the consumer, which would make it even harder for Apple to compete with Samsung. There’s still a chance Trump will reconsider the tariffs for Apple, though.

Tagged with Apple, China, iPhone 11, MacBook Pro, Trump