How will the U.S. Supreme Court ruling affect Apple?

Special Topic: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Trump’s Global Tariffs Illegal, Trump Responds Calling the Decision “A Disgrace”

　　Apple spends about $1 billion per quarter on tariffs, but with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on tariffs, this figure may start to decrease.

　　On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a major portion of President Donald Trump’s large-scale tariff policy, delivering a significant blow to the core of his economic agenda.

　　Since Trump launched the related tariff measures last year, Apple has paid a cumulative total of about $3.3 billion in tariffs.

　　On Friday, Apple’s stock price rose by about 1%.

　　This ruling means that Apple may begin to lower production costs and retain more profit margin.

　　Apple declined to comment on the matter.

　　The high tariff costs mainly stem from U.S. import tariffs on products and components manufactured overseas—especially products from partners in Asia such as Vietnam and India.

　　In May this year, while outlining solutions for dealing with tariffs, CEO Tim Cook stated that half of the iPhones for the U.S. market are produced in India, while most Macs, AirPods, and Apple Watches sold in the U.S. come from Vietnam.

　　During an earnings call, Cook emphasized that Apple largely absorbs the tariff costs itself to avoid sudden increases in product prices.

　　The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump’s unilateral imposition of tariffs was illegal. This means the U.S. government may need to refund importers more than $175 billion in tariff payments.

　　A major question is whether Apple will actively seek to recover the tariffs it has paid, or opt to bear the costs itself to avoid angering the President.

　　At a press conference Friday afternoon regarding the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump did not commit to refunding tariffs to U.S. companies that have already paid them, and said he expects “years of litigation” over the refund issue.

Editor: Chen Yujia