US tariffs lifted by the Supreme Court – but more problems for Apple than before | News

Last Friday, the Supreme Court declared the Trump tariffs, which have been causing much uncertainty for a year, to be illegal. The decision wasn’t about whether tariffs are harmful per se, but about powers. The verdict was that a US president did not have these, but that the measures in question would have had to be passed by Congress. A presidential decree is not enough – at least if you rely on the “International Emergency Economic Powers Act” as the legal basis. At first there was a sigh of relief, especially since many companies now see the opportunity to get reimbursed for tariffs that were wrongly levied.

Previous tariffs are invalid – but so are Apple’s special rules
However, the US government reacted quickly and announced that it would now use different laws. Instead, Trump announced a global import tariff of 10 percent, only to announce shortly afterwards that it would increase to 15 percent. Apple is initially in a worse position than before, because some parts of the old rules were carefully tailored around Cupertino’s interests. Those exceptions are currently obsolete because they were based on the mechanics of the legal basis that was judged to be inadmissible. The ruling and the latest tariff policy mean that Apple is not only faced with uncertainty about possible refunds of tariffs that have already been paid, but also with new, albeit differently justified, tariffs.

Cook is once again in demand – but it is becoming increasingly difficult
Apple and Apple customers had already been burdened with more than three billion dollars in customs costs. After global import tariffs come into force and exemptions are no longer applicable, the situation is likely to get even worse. Tim Cook will probably have to use some negotiating skills again in order to minimize harmful effects. In the past, Cook has always been very successful with this, which is why he can probably bring about reductions again – but the problem for Apple and Co. remains that they can never accurately estimate how import costs will develop in the coming quarters. The effects are also more far-reaching than just affecting US consumers: Industry experts are certain that Apple will have to resort to a global cost levy in order not to noticeably increase prices in the particularly important US market.