longfang

timmillea said:

Trump's tariffs only affect goods imported in to the USA. Retaliatory tariffs will affect goods exported from the USA. The bulk of Apple's sales are not in the USA and almost all of its manufacturing is outside the USA. Hence most of Apple's business will be unaffected.

Trump has created an incentive to manufacture in the USA for domestic consumption but also an incentive to manufacture outside the USA for sales in the rest of the World. As manufacturing costs are higher in the USA, the net effect is likely to be higher prices but only in the USA. 

longpath said:

I read this situation as a classic case of politicians ruling on subject matter they are functionally illiterate on. It's not localized. I regard it as endemic to the political class, everywhere. It's not a left or right issue. It is an issue of authoritarianism & presumption of competence where none exists. I see it often in areas of technology and economics. This is not a case of "our politicians" vs "their politicians".  Politicians frequently presume they know better, about anything they can force through threat of violence, as all laws ultimately are, with little to no consideration of the consequences. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/enforcing-the-law-is-inherently-violent/488828/

https://rlo.acton.org/archives/87651-yes-law-is-inherently-violent-but-thats-not-the-problem.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-12-04/law-puts-us-all-in-same-danger-as-eric-garner

blastdoor said:

but TSMC margins are steadily going up, which means that's profit Apple is missing out on. 

rob53 said:

Why in Texas? People thought Apple's products were getting too expensive, just wait for products coming out of Texas. They will break everyone's budget. Who in Texas will actually work at this manufacturing facility? Will everything be automated? Where will the people for these 20K come from, India? Who's going to build the facility? Not the hardest workers from south of the border. trump made sure of that.

pnaddaff said:

So what? If you want MagSafe, buy a phone that has it.