The Guts of an Apple Iphone Show Exactly What Trump Gets Wrong About Trade — Jason Dedrick, Greg Linden, Kenneth L. Kraeme

Crack open an iPhone and you’ll begin to see why President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with China doesn’t make sense.

On paper, imports of the popular smartphone and other goods from China look like a big loss to the U.S. The president certainly thinks so and has often cited the massive U.S.-China bilateral trade deficit – US$420 billion in 2018 – as a reason to fight his trade war.

When an iPhone X arrives in the U.S., it adds about $370 – its factory cost – to the deficit. All told, iPhones add tens of billions of dollars a year to the U.S. deficit with China, which is the gap between imports and exports. But, thanks to the globe-spanning supply chains that run through China, trade deficits in the modern economy are not always what they seem.…

Start with the most valuable components that make up an iPhone: the touch-screen display, memory chips, microprocessors and so on. They come from a mix of U.S., Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese companies, such as Intel, Sony, Samsung and Foxconn. Almost none of them is manufactured in China. Apple buys the components and has them shipped to China; then they leave China inside an iPhone.

So what about all of those famous factories in China with millions of workers making iPhones? The companies that own those factories, including Foxconn, are all based in Taiwan. Of the factory-cost estimate of $237.45 from IHS Markit at the time the iPhone 7 was released in late 2016, we calculate that all that’s earned in China is about $8.46, or 3.6% of the total. That includes a battery supplied by a Chinese company and the labor used for assembly....

The National Interest
The Guts of an Apple Iphone Show Exactly What Trump Gets Wrong About Trade
Jason Dedrick, Greg Linden, Kenneth L. Kraeme

Zero Hedge — iPhone X Sales Collapse Triggers Serious Breach Of Contract With Samsung

Apple woes mount. Is the shine off?

Zero Hedge
iPhone X Sales Collapse Triggers Serious Breach Of Contract With Samsung
Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden — iPhones Are Now "Embarrassing" In China As Trade War Deepens

Tim Cook's worst nightmare. But not just Apple. American products used to cool. Now, the coolness factor is disappearing.

China had already completed its export-dependent phase of the economic plan, and was already embarking on increasing consumption-share of GDP. This just hastens the transition as the government is forced to increase domestic demand through stimulus to maintain employment.

Zero Hedge
iPhones Are Now "Embarrassing" In China As Trade War Deepens
Tyler Durden

At the front line in the Sino-American trade war — Links

Zero Hedge
Beijing Backs Iran, "Firmly Opposes" Unilateral US Sanctions
Tyler Durden

Sputnik International
Google Suspends Huawei Access to Android Updates After Trump’s Ban – Reports

Reuters
Schumer asks government to probe rail tech from China

Sputnik International
Chinese Users Call for Boycott of Apple Phones Due to US Trade War

David Koenig — President Trump Says Apple Can Avoid Tariff Consequences by Opening U.S. Plants

President Donald Trump concedes that some Apple Inc. products may become more expensive if his administration imposes “massive” additional tariffs on Chinese-made goods, but he says the tech company can fix the problem by moving production to the U.S.

“Start building new plants now. Exciting!” Trump said Saturday in a tweet aimed at the Cupertino, California-based company....

Time
President Trump Says Apple Can Avoid Tariff Consequences by Opening U.S. Plants

David Koenig | A P

Xinhua — China court overturns iPhone sale ban

A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Apple Inc. in design patent disputes between it and a domestic phone-maker, overturning a ban on selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China.

Last May, a Beijing patent regulator ordered Apple's Chinese subsidiary and a local retailer Zoomflight to stop selling the said phones after Shenzhen Baili Marketing services Co. (Shenzhen Baili) lodged a complaint to it, claiming that the patent for the design of its mobile phone 100c was being infringed upon by the iPhone sales.

Apple and Zoomflight took the Beijing Intellectual Property Office's banning order to court.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court on Friday revoked the ban, saying Apple and Zoomflight did not violate Shenzhen Baili's design patent for 100c phones.
The court ruled that the regulator did not follow due procedures in ordering the ban while there is no sufficient proof to claim the designs constitute violation of intellectual property rights.

Representatives of Beijing Intellectual Property Office and Shenzhen Baili said they would take time to decide whether to appeal the ruling.

In another related ruling, the same court denied a request by Apple to demand stripping Shenzhen Baili of its design patent for 100c phones. Apple first filed the request to the Patent Reexamination Board of State Intellectual Property Office. The board rejected the request, but Apple lodged a lawsuit against the rejection to court.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court on Friday ruled to maintain the board's decision. It remains not immediately clear if Apple will appeal....

China.org.cn
China court overturns iPhone sale ban

Xinhua

Biz Carson — Apple just bought the app it once crowned 'most innovative' and made it free for everyone

Free is good.

Business Insider
Apple just bought the app it once crowned 'most innovative' and made it free for everyone

Biz Carson

Here's another new product from Apple.

Introducing Clips. A new iOS app for making and sharing fun videos with text, effects, graphics, and more.

Don Reisinger — China Threatens to Cut iPhone Sales Over Trump Rhetoric

Holding Apple ransom. 

China is Apple's largest market and Tim Cook is heavily committed to China.

Fortune
China Threatens to Cut iPhone Sales Over Trump Rhetoric
Don Reisinger

Reuters
In phone call, China's Xi tells Trump cooperation is only choice

Michael Martina and Steve Holland

Jonathan Vanian — China Overtakes U.S. In Apple App Store Spending

China has overtaken the U.S. as the biggest spender in Apple’s iOS app store.

Mobile analytics and research firm App Annie said this week that Chinese consumers spent $1.7 billion on Apple-sanctioned mobile apps in the third quarter, or about 15% higher than the nearly $1.45 billion spent by Americans during the same period.…

Fortune

China Overtakes U.S. In Apple App Store Spending
Jonathan Vanian

China Daily — CEO says Apple to help China's apps go global

U.S. tech giant Apple Inc will further speed up efforts to help Chinese-developed mobile applications go global, as local developers reportedly raked in earnings exceeding $7 billion from the company's App Store.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said in Beijing on Monday that about half of the earnings came in the past 12 months alone, indicating strong momentum in the industry.
Cook made the remark during his latest trip to Beijing, as the company is trying to boost its contracting smartphone sales in China, its second-largest market after the United States.

In a meeting at an Apple store in Beijing, Cook said, "Chinese developers are already technologically strong, and Apple will offer more help in the marketing side to help them venture into overseas markets."

Apple has announced that it pumped $1 billion into Didi Chuxing, China's largest ride-hailing platform.

Apple said Cook was in Beijing for an app store developer activity. It declined to comment on whether the senior executive will meet with high-level officials to talk about regulatory issues.

Last month, the government shut down Apple's iTunes movie services and iBooks services on the mainland, and earlier this month, the company lost exclusive rights to its iPhone trademark in China.

Neil Shah, research director at market research company Counterpoint Technology Market Research, said Cook's visit to China, the recent investment in Didi and Cook's promise to help Chinese developers add to the fact that "China is and will remain to be the most important market for Apple".

Ecns.cn
CEO says Apple to help China's apps go global
China Daily

Also

Apple CEO hails China's app economy following Didi investment

Xinhua — Apple announces $1-bln investment in China's hail-riding app

Apple announced on Friday it will invest 1 billion U.S. dollars in Chinese ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing.

"We decided to make the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including the chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market. We see lots of opportunities for closer cooperation between the two companies, and we also believe it will deliver strong returns," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

Cook said the investment reflected Apple's excitement about Didi's fast-growing business and its continued confidence in China's economy in the long run.

Apple has invested heavily to expand its presence in China through Apple stores, environmental initiatives, and supply chains. The latest Didi investment suggests the U.S. company is placing greater focus on app developers in China, now its second largest market.

Ecns.cn

Apple announces $1-bln investment in China's hail-riding app

Xinhua

Jenna McLaughlin — Donald Trump Turns Ire on Apple, Calls for Boycott

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is calling for Americans to boycott Apple products until the tech giant complies with a court order and helps the FBI hack into San Bernardino killer Syed Farook’s iPhone.

“Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information,” he said on Friday in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. …

The Intercept
Donald Trump Turns Ire on Apple, Calls for Boycott

Jenna McLaughlin