Apple could ‘ultimately mitigate’ Trump’s tariffs, UBS says

U.S. President Donald Trump signs a memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 22, 2018.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

• President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that he is prepared to hit another $267 billion worth of Chinese goods with tariffs — and he is not afraid to put tariffs on consumer goods like the Apple iPhone.
• Trump’s renewed tariff threat could simply be a “negotiating tactic” ahead of the G20 Summit later this week, and Apple could ultimately mitigate any tariff impacts, said UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri.
• Shares of the smartphone giant have been under pressure recently  — down more than 20% from their October peak.
• Watch Apple trade live.

New tariffs on consumer products like the iPhone wouldn’t hurt Apple too much, UBS says.

Fears over such tariffs were highlighted Monday when President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he was prepared to slap tariffs on the rest of Chinese goods not already subject to duties, including some consumer goods such as iPhones and iPads. He also told The Journal it was “highly unlikely” that the US would exit this week’s G20 summit with an agreement to hold off on increasing duties already in place on Chinese goods.

The UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri said those threats could simply be a “negotiating tactic” ahead of the G20 summit, when Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also said that “Apple could ultimately mitigate any tariff impacts” if Trump goes ahead with the plan.  

Apple shares were up 1% this year.

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