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Trump’s tariffs cause more problems for Apple regarding its AI plans for China

Problems caused by Trump’s tariffs continue: Apple's plans to bring Apple Intelligence to the Chinese market have negatively impacted by the conflict.

Problems caused by Trump’s tariffs continue: Apple’s plans to bring Apple Intelligence to the Chinese market have negatively impacted by the conflict, reports Financial Times (a subscription is required to read the article).

In February it was announced that Apple was partnering with China’s Alibaba to bring its AI features to the iPhone in China. Alibaba is one of the world’s largest retailers and e-commerce companies. In 2020, it was also rated as the fifth-largest artificial intelligence company. 

In February Apple and Alibaba submitted the co-developed AI features to China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC) for regulatory approval, with the hope that they can be brought to iPhones in a future iOS update.

However, the Financial Times says CAC is delaying the application approval due to “increasing political uncertainties” between the United States and China. In addition to the tariff brouhaha China says the U.S. “severely violated” a trade agreement that had been reached at a Geneva meeting in May by limiting sales of jet engine and semiconductor design software to Chinese companies, controlling chip exports, and canceling Visas for Chinese students.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.