Apple’s share price was down around 4.6 per cent on Friday at the close of the market to $202.64 per share after US President Donald Trump said that the US companies should “immediately start looking for an alternative ” to their operations in China.
Taking to Twitter, Trump said, “We don’t need China and frankly, would be far better off without them.
….your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon. This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States. Also, I am ordering all carriers, including Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the Post Office, to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE,….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019
“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing … your companies HOME and making your products in the USA”, he wrote.
Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years. They have stolen our Intellectual Property at a rate of Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year, & they want to continue. I won’t let that happen! We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019
Trump’s edict was a response to a new round of tariffs imposed by China on imported US goods, which is set to go into effect that will be starting next month.
The slide came amid a market-wide sell-off, with the NASDAQ sliding 3%, and the Dow dropping 623 points.
Earlier on Friday, China announced that it was going to impose tariffs of 5% to 10% on $75 billion worth of imports from the US in two rounds, will be starting on September 1 and December 15.
Apple has felt the effects of Trump’s trade war with China more than most technology companies. The company conducts the majority of its manufacturing process in China and the Chinese market represents a significant portion of its sales.
Trump’s comments on Friday mark the latest fallout in the trade war between the US and China.
Trump’s tweet came after China pledged to levy tariffs on $75 billion more of US goods, including autos.
The new tariffs followed Donald Trump’s plan to impose duties on $300 billion worth of China’s goods by December.
The latest policy threat to Apple’s global supply chain comes just days after President Trump lauded Apple CEO Tim Cook, when he was telling media that the Apple executive would often call him directly when he had problems to discuss.
Most recently, these discussions apparently were all about tariffs, with Cook arguing that a 10% levy would put Apple at a disadvantage in its competition with South Korea’s Samsung.