Trump’s Vow To Force Apple To Make Its Products in US Would Be ‘Economic Suicide,’ Shapiro Says

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is wrongheaded in his campaign vow to force Apple to shift its manufacturing from China to the U.S., CTA President Gary Shapiro said Wednesday in a blog post at Medium.com. Trump “gets a pass from some people for saying foolish things,” said Shapiro, who has endorsed Marco Rubio for the presidency (see 1512230039). But “I fear for our nation that a candidate for president would lead in the polls after making so many idiotic statements.” If “we did what Trump wants,” Apple “would then face huge additional costs making iPhones and iPads and would have to raise its prices to the American consumers several-fold,” he said. “We would destroy the two-way nature of international trade and leave our biggest and best exporters, such as Boeing, GM, Ford and IBM vulnerable to Chinese retaliation.” There's no doubt Americans “should be manufacturers, especially in highly skilled manufacturing,” Shapiro said. “But I have been in scores of Chinese factories, and the assembly work consists of redundant, simple, repetitive tasks that many with an education would be unsatisfied doing.” Brazil has “tried what Trump advocates,” he said. Duties there “vary according to the value of a given product, but can reach as high as 55 percent,” he said. “The result is high domestic prices for consumer electronics, often making them inaccessible to average citizens. The result is that upscale Brazilians visit the U.S. with empty suitcases and leave with luggage full of electronics.” Said Shapiro: “So, no, Mr. Trump. The last time the U.S. tried anything as dumb as your China proposal, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff law of 1930 raised U.S. tariffs on more than 20,000 imported goods to record levels. That led to the Great Depression. Your ideas may smartly play to a certain type of voter, but they’re economic suicide for America, its people and our world-leading companies.”