MOSCOW, August 28 Apple products may rise in price due to tensions between the US and China, Bloomberg reports.
As noted by the agency, China is at the center of Apple's supply chain, as almost 80 percent of Apple's manufacturing partners are concentrated in China.
«As relations between the US and China deteriorate, new manufacturing sites are changing the way Apple devices are made… This is a split in the global supply chain that threatens to drive up prices for Apple's vast consumer base,» Bloomberg said.
As the agency explains, amid tense relations between the two countries, parts for Apple products are shipped from other countries, then assembled in several locations and shipped to customers around the world.
«Manufacturers, suppliers and brands are facing the challenge of manufacturing in less established regions and managing multiple entry and exit points. Premium models are likely to become more expensive to manufacture.» emphasizes the agency.
Another hitch in US-China relations occurred in late May, when China's Cyberspace Administration said that US semiconductor company Micron had failed its cybersecurity audit and that critical information infrastructure operators in China should stop purchasing Micron's products. In response, members of Congress issued a statement that the US Department of Commerce should blacklist Chinese integrated semiconductor device maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), US media reported. The US authorities also asked South Korea in advance to urge its chip makers not to sell them in the Chinese market in the event of a ban on the activities of the American company Micron there. In early October 2022, the US restricted 28 Chinese technology companies from accessing US-made semiconductor chips worldwide.