• Tweeter

  • republish

Apple is 48% dependent on Chinese suppliers for the manufacture of its iPhone. REUTERS / Fabrizio Bensch

The threat of Donald Trump materializes this Sunday, September 1 at 4:00 UTC. The United States now applies 15% tariff on 125 billion dollars of Chinese products: shoes, flat screens, connected watches, wireless headphones. If computers and cell phones made in China are spared for the time being, - the tax is expected to apply on December 15 - this Sino-US trade war illustrates the great dependence of US electronics companies vis-à-vis Chinese manufacturer.

The United States and China began Sunday morning to levy increased customs duties on their mutual imports, marking a new
escalation in the trade dispute that pits them against the will of appeasement displayed recently by Washington and Beijing.

China raised taxes by about $ 75 billion in US imports, 5% or 10% depending on products. For their part, the United States now receives 15% tariff on more than 125 billion dollars of Chinese products that were previously untaxed.

The example of Apple is very enlightening. The Californian firm is 48% dependent on Chinese suppliers for the manufacture of its iPhone, connected watches or wireless headphones. More than in 2015

According to Reuters, the cost of labor in China has increased, but the availability of labor remains unmatched. What other country can assemble 600,000 phones a day? "Says consulting firm Fictiv, a specialist in supply chains. This exempts companies from storing merchandise, which frees up cash.

Despite the accelerated relocation of electronics manufacturers to India, Thailand and especially Vietnam, China should remain a key supplier of the sector.

Quit cheating a little. A computer can be stamped "made in India" if its motherboard is made in India even though it was assembled in China. Similarly, many products "made in Vietnam" are actually made in China or by Chinese companies relocated to Vietnam. Which makes this country one of Donald Trump's next targets.

A trade war is expensive for everyone ...

Mary-Françoise Renard, professor at Clermont-Auvergne University, head of China Economic Research Institute at CERDI. 31/08/2019 - by Agnieszka Kumor Listen

► See also: United States: the imposition of Chinese electronic products postponed to December