Last week Apple Inc. indicated that it had filed for tariff exemptions on products that they will use to build their latest Mac Pro desktop that is to be produced in China. Yesterday President Donald trump responded to Apple indicating there will be no tariff exemptions for the parts adding that apple should open a production plant in Texas.

Trump tells apple to build a production plant in the US

On Sunday evening Trump told reporters that he has so much respect and liking for Apple CEO Tim Cook and he believes they will reach a decision regarding the Mac Pro computer situation. Trump said that he wants the company to build their manufacturing plants in the US and not in China. Trump added that it was okay for Apple to build their production plants in china but they should be ready to be tariffed once they bring their products into the US.

The basis of Trump’s comment advising Apple to move manufacturing to the US is not clear yet. The Mac Pro was first manufactured in Texas in 2013 but there were a lot of challenges because of the lack of manufacturing infrastructure in the US. For now it seems unlikely that the company will revert production to the Texas factory despite Trump repeatedly claiming that the company was building production plants in Wisconsin which is a mere fabrication.

Tariffs will affect Apple business

In the filing seeking exemptions for Mac Pro components the company had indicated that there was no other source for the proprietary designed component. Last month the company said that its contribution to the US economy will be reduced significantly by the tariffs. The company in a letter to Robert Lighthizer the Trade representative indicated that tariffs will also affect their global competitiveness because there are other Chinese companies that are also building similar products as Apple.

The Mac Pro desktop was unveiled last month during the company’s annual developer conference and it is an upgrade of the 2013 version. The latest $6,000 Mac Pro will be enhanced with high-end configuration and it could go as high as $50,000.