China threatens App Store probe in retaliation for trade tensions

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Posted:
in iOS edited February 5

Following the introduction of trade tariffs by the US, China is said to be considering an antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store practices.

Two men sit at a table in conversation, one gesturing, with microphones and glasses of water in front.
Tim Cook (left) and Trump (right)



The new US trade tariffs ostensibly imposed on China will be paid by US businesses and consumers, not China or any other foreign country. But they mean higher prices for Americans, which will mean a decrease in sales, so China has been announcing retaliatory measures.

According to Bloomberg, those measures may now also include China launching an investigation into Apple's App Store fees and practices. This is despite the country having already investigated the App Store and concluding in May 2024 that Apple was not abusing its market position.

The new probe, as yet not officially announced, is said to involve China's State Administration for Market Regulation. It is to review Apple's policies, specifically concentrating on its 30% commission on in-app purchases -- which China previous ruled was in-line with other companies' fees.

It's also said to be planning to investigate Apple's restrictions on using third-party payment services and app stores. Chinese regulators have been in discussions with Apple and app developers since the May 2024 ruling, but as yet neither China nor Apple have confirmed the new investigation.

Nonetheless, Apple's shares were down 3% on the news.

What China has confirmed is that Google will be investigated under the country's anti-monopoly laws. The Chinese Commerce Ministry has separately placed the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger on its "unreliable entity" list.

As for the impact on US consumers of President Trump's tariffs, Apple has previously been able to get exemptions. However, it did not get these consistently, and it has so far not escaped them this time.

Separately, as tariffs are being applied to goods from different countries in different amounts, certain regions are attempting to position themselves to benefit. India, for instance, has cut key import taxes in order to attract more manufacturing from firms such as Apple.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    Pemapema Posts: 209member
    There is an old proverb, 'we live in interesting times'. I would suggest that now it needs to be updated to say 'we live in insane times'. 

    In 1933 sociopathic criminals took over the Reich Chancellery and ended up murdering millions of people and ultimately causing the death of 12 Million Germans and a destruction of a great many German cities. 

    Now we have a similar sort of situation whereby the plans of the current US administration is going to unleash God only knows what on the world. Just consider some of the recent moves: Patel (a certifiable lunatic) taking over the FBI; RFK (a dangerous conspiracy theorist) taking over the Department of Health; Musk moving chess pieces around the government like its a board game. 

    Now the tariffs are going to ruin Apple's most profitable market outside the US. 

    I don't see how we don't end up with mass chaos and WWIII.  
    StationGreyirwinmauricethrangforegoneconclusiontwolf2919ronnbloggerblogMisterKitdanox9secondkox2
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  • Reply 2 of 27
    With incompetent narcissistic billionaires in charge, everyone suffers apart from them.

    Who could possibly have foreseen that happening?
    CheeseFreezeirwinmauricethrangforegoneconclusiontwolf2919ronndanox9secondkox2dewmetmay
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  • Reply 3 of 27
    This move from China is smart. What was Trump expecting? He'll eventually have to back off. 
    Meanwhile, unelected billionaire Musk is ravaging through government organizations, which is completely unconstitutional.
    Why did Americans choose this joker? He is a serious danger to the world. 
    I was about to emigrate back to the US, but we cancelled it when the election went sideways. Who wants to live there?
    edited February 5
    irwinmauricethrangStationGreyforegoneconclusiontwolf2919ronnMisterKit9secondkox2DAalsethdav
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  • Reply 4 of 27
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,103member
    Apple being forced to open up in one way or another (depending on jurisdictions) is basically a given so in this context (although tit-for-tat here) it isn't a surprise.

    The state of the US administration right now is quite alarming. Both in internal and external (geopolitical) terms. 

    Big Tech and all up and downstream players are in for troubled times. 
    9secondkox2DAalsethdavfastasleepbadmonkCloudTalkindewme
     6Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 27
    The "trade war" with Canada/Mexico turned out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt. Mexico already had 15,000 troops at the border (Trump wanted 10,000) and Canada had already updated their border security during the last months of the Biden administration. Musk has a lot of business interests in China so he's not going to support a real trade war. Expect another nothing burger in terms of policy changes, similar to Trump's 1st administration.
    twolf2919danox9secondkox2DAalsethgatorguyfastasleepbadmonkCloudTalkinh2psconosciuto
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  • Reply 6 of 27
    CheeseFreeze said: Why did Americans choose this joker?
    The voters that decided the election are ones that don't pay attention to politics at all. Those types of voters overwhelmingly chose Trump. And then they're surprised that the GOP, the party of deregulation, isn't going to do anything about their cost of living problems. 
    ronnMisterKitdanox9secondkox2DAalsethgatorguyilarynxtmaydavfastasleep
     12Likes 2Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 27
    This move from China is smart. What was Trump expecting? He'll eventually have to back off. 
    Meanwhile, unelected billionaire Musk is ravaging through government organizations, which is completely unconstitutional.
    Why did Americans choose this joker? He is a serious danger to the world. 
    I was about to emigrate back to the US, but we cancelled it when the election went sideways. Who wants to live there?
    This is just a shot across the bow.  If Trump gets in a tit-for-tat - virtually guaranteed given his ego - watch China "investigate" Tesla next.  China is Tesla's biggest market outside the US and it uses the Shanghai factory to export Teslas to other countries as well.   China might be the player that will finally bring  TSLA's ridiculous valuation down to earth if that happens.
    ronndanox9secondkox2CheeseFreezeDAalsethtmaydavfastasleepbadmonkCloudTalkin
     11Likes 2Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 27
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,090member
    CheeseFreeze said: Why did Americans choose this joker?
    The voters that decided the election are ones that don't pay attention to politics at all. Those types of voters overwhelmingly chose Trump. And then they're surprised that the GOP, the party of deregulation, isn't going to do anything about their cost of living problems. 
    Don’t mean to burst your bubble, but I find it ironic and interesting that the democrats all of a sudden are interested in “protecting” our democracy and putting forth such a public display when they could have been doing this decades ago—yes, DECADES. Both parties serve Israel and the Zionists (same thing). What are you doing to take back this country from a foreign agent? What are all of you doing to take back this country?
    ronndanoxWesley HilliardDAalseth9secondkox2davfastasleepCloudTalkincanukstormirwinmaurice
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  • Reply 9 of 27
    ronnronn Posts: 703member
    $1 million well spent Tim Apple!  :#
    CheeseFreeze9secondkox2williamlondon
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  • Reply 10 of 27
    mac_dog said: Don’t mean to burst your bubble, but I find it ironic and interesting that the democrats all of a sudden are interested in “protecting” our democracy and putting forth such a public display when they could have been doing this decades ago—yes, DECADES.
    Protecting our democracy = following the legal constructs of the Constitution. Example: when Barack Obama was president, Republican members of Congress repeatedly stated that Congress had the power of the purse and that any changes to funding required Congressional action. Nobody in the GOP believed that Barack Obama could create a department out of thin air and appoint George Clooney to cut Pentagon spending and redirect it to his tequila company. 
    dewmeronndanoxgatorguypaisleydiscotmay9secondkox2davfastasleepbadmonk
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  • Reply 11 of 27
    This move from China is smart. What was Trump expecting? He'll eventually have to back off. 
    Meanwhile, unelected billionaire Musk is ravaging through government organizations, which is completely unconstitutional.
    Why did Americans choose this joker? He is a serious danger to the world. 
    I was about to emigrate back to the US, but we cancelled it when the election went sideways. Who wants to live there?
    Because all candidates were jokers, and many citizens did not want to vote for either of them. We are brainwashed to think we have "freedoms" and one of those is the voting. We get vote for one candidate out of two, neither of which we chose and they are two cheeks of the same butt.
    ronndanoxtmaydavfastasleepsconosciutomacguiwilliamlondon
     0Likes 8Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 27
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,522member
    Pema said:
    There is an old proverb, 'we live in interesting times'. I would suggest that now it needs to be updated to say 'we live in insane times'. 

    In 1933 sociopathic criminals took over the Reich Chancellery and ended up murdering millions of people and ultimately causing the death of 12 Million Germans and a destruction of a great many German cities. 

    Now we have a similar sort of situation whereby the plans of the current US administration is going to unleash God only knows what on the world. Just consider some of the recent moves: Patel (a certifiable lunatic) taking over the FBI; RFK (a dangerous conspiracy theorist) taking over the Department of Health; Musk moving chess pieces around the government like its a board game. 

    Now the tariffs are going to ruin Apple's most profitable market outside the US. 

    I don't see how we don't end up with mass chaos and WWIII.  

    Now you know why his casinos failed, and how someone who inherited it $400 million dollars in 1973 barely move the needle on his total worth over the years complete incompetence….. and also why he was jealous of the Kardashians because they were actually better at business and worth more money than him.
    edited February 5
    ronn9secondkox2davfastasleepbadmonkCloudTalkinbyronlwilliamlondonGraeme000
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  • Reply 13 of 27
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,522member

    avon b7 said:
    Apple being forced to open up in one way or another (depending on jurisdictions) is basically a given so in this context (although tit-for-tat here) it isn't a surprise.

    The state of the US administration right now is quite alarming. Both in internal and external (geopolitical) terms. 

    Big Tech and all up and downstream players are in for troubled times. 

    Like Brexit, UK it’s appears to be the final nails in the coffin for post-war America, the end of NATO by 2040? The continued process of deindustrialization, watching Dearborn, Michigan getting a nasty wake up call or those public unions in Utah getting the same. It’s just the signs of decline the brick wall of Brexit America coming up, and it appears to be unavoidable just like the UK. :)

    I wonder if Canada, Australia and New Zealand can wake up in time and save themselves because they also show signs of much of the rot infecting the UK and America.
    edited February 5
    9secondkox2davfastasleepbadmonk
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  • Reply 14 of 27
    China showing its true colors. 

    After cook invested insane amounts of money in the country snd looking to do more, they turn around and pull this - just to get back at someone else. 

    Shameful. 

    If China did things properly there wouldn’t be anything to worry about. Finally someone steps in and charts a course-correction. 

    China can be upset, because they didn’t get their way. But if they want to escalate, they’ll find the gravy train no longer delivers to that area. 
    Wesley Hilliard13485ronnfastasleepdanoxCloudTalkinh2pGraeme000
     1Like 7Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 27
    Pema said:
    There is an old proverb, 'we live in interesting times'. I would suggest that now it needs to be updated to say 'we live in insane times'. 

    In 1933 sociopathic criminals took over the Reich Chancellery and ended up murdering millions of people and ultimately causing the death of 12 Million Germans and a destruction of a great many German cities. 

    Now we have a similar sort of situation whereby the plans of the current US administration is going to unleash God only knows what on the world. Just consider some of the recent moves: Patel (a certifiable lunatic) taking over the FBI; RFK (a dangerous conspiracy theorist) taking over the Department of Health; Musk moving chess pieces around the government like its a board game. 

    Now the tariffs are going to ruin Apple's most profitable market outside the US. 

    I don't see how we don't end up with mass chaos and WWIII.  
    I am from India and I don't have much knowledge on US politics. But one point to make as an outsider - In the last 10 years, under which party's rule in US did the major conflicts in the world occur? There were no major wars in the world during Trump's first presidency. And two major conflicts (Russia Vs Ukraine, major escalation of Gaza conflict) occurred while Joe Biden was president. For the outside world, it does look like Democrats are the ones creating major conflicts in the world, in order to maintain US supremacy in the world order. Trump's presidency was not so bad for world peace, indeed it was damn good when compared to Biden's term. Not sure how Trump's second term would turn out to be in terms of peace in the world, but hoping that it would be similar to his first term. If that happened, then world is better off with Trump as POTUS.
    Wesley HilliardjSnivelyilarynxronn9secondkox2davfastasleepdanoxCloudTalkinmeterestnz
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  • Reply 16 of 27
    DAalsethdaalseth Posts: 3,141member
    Interesting thought:
    Suppose a country, for example China, investigates Apple and says that it’s an antitrust violation for Apple to both sell the devices and run the AppStore on those devices. I wonder what they would do? If it’s Slovenia, or Uruguay, they’d just pull out, but China is a big market. I don’t think they could afford to pull out. OTOH giving up all control of what goes on the devices they sell would be a very bitter pill. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 27
    Wesley Hilliardwesley hilliard Posts: 374member, administrator, moderator, editor
    Pema said:
    There is an old proverb, 'we live in interesting times'. I would suggest that now it needs to be updated to say 'we live in insane times'. 

    In 1933 sociopathic criminals took over the Reich Chancellery and ended up murdering millions of people and ultimately causing the death of 12 Million Germans and a destruction of a great many German cities. 

    Now we have a similar sort of situation whereby the plans of the current US administration is going to unleash God only knows what on the world. Just consider some of the recent moves: Patel (a certifiable lunatic) taking over the FBI; RFK (a dangerous conspiracy theorist) taking over the Department of Health; Musk moving chess pieces around the government like its a board game. 

    Now the tariffs are going to ruin Apple's most profitable market outside the US. 

    I don't see how we don't end up with mass chaos and WWIII.  
    I am from India and I don't have much knowledge on US politics. But one point to make as an outsider - In the last 10 years, under which party's rule in US did the major conflicts in the world occur? There were no major wars in the world during Trump's first presidency. And two major conflicts (Russia Vs Ukraine, major escalation of Gaza conflict) occurred while Joe Biden was president. For the outside world, it does look like Democrats are the ones creating major conflicts in the world, in order to maintain US supremacy in the world order. Trump's presidency was not so bad for world peace, indeed it was damn good when compared to Biden's term. Not sure how Trump's second term would turn out to be in terms of peace in the world, but hoping that it would be similar to his first term. If that happened, then world is better off with Trump as POTUS.
    We didn't leave the middle east until after Biden took over, so we had soldiers overseas in a foreign conflict the entire time Trump was president the first time. Biden didn't cause Russia to invade Ukraine, in fact it was Trump destabilizing the west with actions that led to his first impeachment that led Putin to being bold enough to invade Ukraine.

    The problem with Israel and Gaza is that it was always a matter of when, not if. That situation has nothing to do with who is in charge of the United States, but with Trump back in charge and calling to send US troops to "level the place" and "relocate all of the Palestinians" to Egypt and Jordan so the US can build "the Riviera of the Middle East."

    The tension between Taiwan and China are another example of a ticking time bomb that won't really rely on who is president of the US for it to go off.

    Death and destruction follow Trump's every move. He's also threatened to use US officials to invade Mexico to take down cartels he's designated as terrorists. He's also talked about military force being used to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal.

    This term is going to be about anything but peace. He's already gone down in history as the worst president in the history of the United States by almost every metric in his first term, and it seems he may just one up that in the second term.

    The world is already worse off with Trump as president, and it hasn't even been a month.
    DAalsethpaisleydiscoilarynxtmayronn9secondkox2davfastasleepdanoxbadmonk
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  • Reply 18 of 27
    Wesley Hilliardwesley hilliard Posts: 374member, administrator, moderator, editor

    China showing its true colors. 

    After cook invested insane amounts of money in the country snd looking to do more, they turn around and pull this - just to get back at someone else. 

    Shameful. 

    If China did things properly there wouldn’t be anything to worry about. Finally someone steps in and charts a course-correction. 

    China can be upset, because they didn’t get their way. But if they want to escalate, they’ll find the gravy train no longer delivers to that area. 
    I'm certain the US needs China more than China needs the US. They have the upper hand in any and all negotiations here.
    DAalsethdewmeronn9secondkox2fastasleepdanoxsconosciutogatorguywilliamlondon
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  • Reply 19 of 27
    ronnronn Posts: 703member
    I am from India and I don't have much knowledge on US politics. ...
    We can see!  :D
    fastasleepdanoxbadmonksconosciutowilliamlondonGraeme000bestkeptsecret
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  • Reply 20 of 27
    1348513485 Posts: 386member
    Pema said:
    There is an old proverb, 'we live in interesting times'. I would suggest that now it needs to be updated to say 'we live in insane times'. 

    In 1933 sociopathic criminals took over the Reich Chancellery and ended up murdering millions of people and ultimately causing the death of 12 Million Germans and a destruction of a great many German cities. 

    Now we have a similar sort of situation whereby the plans of the current US administration is going to unleash God only knows what on the world. Just consider some of the recent moves: Patel (a certifiable lunatic) taking over the FBI; RFK (a dangerous conspiracy theorist) taking over the Department of Health; Musk moving chess pieces around the government like its a board game. 

    Now the tariffs are going to ruin Apple's most profitable market outside the US. 

    I don't see how we don't end up with mass chaos and WWIII.  
    I am from India and I don't have much knowledge on US politics. But one point to make as an outsider - In the last 10 years, under which party's rule in US did the major conflicts in the world occur? There were no major wars in the world during Trump's first presidency. And two major conflicts (Russia Vs Ukraine, major escalation of Gaza conflict) occurred while Joe Biden was president. For the outside world, it does look like Democrats are the ones creating major conflicts in the world, in order to maintain US supremacy in the world order. Trump's presidency was not so bad for world peace, indeed it was damn good when compared to Biden's term. Not sure how Trump's second term would turn out to be in terms of peace in the world, but hoping that it would be similar to his first term. If that happened, then world is better off with Trump as POTUS.
    The Russso-Ukrainian war started in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. Nice try blaming it on Biden, as if all wars anywhere are the fault of whomever is president of the US at the time, and completely ignoring Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Kashmir, Congo etc.which have been going on for decades, hotter or colder. The Gaza conflict, for instance, now in a truce arranged by Biden, is the fifth conflict between those two countries going back to 2008, but really going back to 1948. 

    If you're hoping for a peaceful Trump 2 term, you haven't been following his stated desires to use military force to take Panama and Greenland, and invade Mexico, for starters after just two weeks. Not to mention pissing off Canada, a reliable ally for a century and biggest trading partner, and South Africa.

    The current US administration professes to believe in "America First", but really that means "America Only", and they don't realize they are going to cede their position as a world power in fairly short order, as more nations join BRICS in retaliation to the trade wars Trump desires. And more nations will exploit the power vacuum 

    Why does he desires this? Because he thinks the "US was the richest before 1913 when we had tariffs." Of course he only understands that we had robber barons of extreme wealth that plundered the nation in that period, while the typical American could barely feed themselves, find jobs or educate their children.

    A country of 380,000,000 will not wag the dog as it has in the past. And as the US withdraws from military alliances and influences as well as trade, they cede any global goodwill the country has generated by blood and treasure since WWI.  
    DAalsethronn9secondkox2davfastasleepdanoxbadmonkCloudTalkinradarthekatquakerotis
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