Apple Outsources Mac Pro Production To China Amid Trade War

Apple (APPL) has reportedly shifted the production facilities for its upcoming Apple Pro computer away from the United States to China, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Mac Pro is a high-end, high-performance computer that was announced on June 3 and is expected to go on sale this fall. The price of the model will start at $5,999.

Apple will team up with Chinese contractor Quanta Computer Inc. to produce the hardware in a facility near Shanghai.

The move comes as President Donald Trump has levied tariffs of 25% on $200 billion of Chinese imports. In return, China has levied its own tariffs on American goods.

The move has provoked controversy in the tech industry.

Apple wrote a letter to the Trump administration saying that the tariffs would "tilt the playing field in favor of our global competitors." Gaming giants Nintendo (NTDOY), Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) also sent a letter to the Trump administration asking for video consoles to be removed from the tariff list. The companies said the tariffs will undermine the administration's goals of protecting U.S. intellectual property and preserving U.S. high-tech leadership.

Although some companies like Apple are moving their production to China, others are moving away to other countries to escape the tariffs. In an interview with NBC News, Carnegie Mellon business professor Sridhar Tayur said that the move was expected, as major companies are taking issue with the lack of environmental and workers' rights protections in China.

"It is becoming more difficult to turn a blind eye to worker management as well as to environmental degradation," Tayur said.

Other Asian nations, such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, are benefiting from new production due to the tariffs.

At the G20 summit in Japan this week, Trump said that he will restart trade talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which may mean an end to the tariff dispute.