Google reportedly moving Pixel phone production out of China - The Mercury News

Is it possible that President Donald Trump’s “ordering” of American companies to look for places other than China to build their products is having an effect on their business operations?

With a new round of tariffs on items made in China set to go into effect Sept. 1, Alphabet’s Google reportedly is moving to shift almost all of its production of products bound for the United States out of China and into Vietnam. According to a report in the Nikkei Asian Review, the products will include the company’s Pixel smartphones and its Google Home connected speaker.

Google also is said to be moving its production due to rising labor costs in China. The Nikkei publication said Google started working this summer to convert a former Nokia factory in northern Vietnam to take on the production of Pixel phones, and that the company estimates it will ship 8 million to 10 million smartphones this year.

Last week, Trump tweeted that he was ordering American companies “to immediately start looking for an alternative to China” as the trade war between the U.S. and China escalated. Trump is set to raise tariffs on a long list of products the U.S. imports from China to 15% from 10% on Sept. 1 if a new trade deal between Washington and Beijing isn’t reached.

However, Trump delayed raising tariffs on Chinese-made smartphones, like the kinds made by Google and Apple, until Dec. 15. That decision was viewed as giving makers of smartphones, and some other consumer electronics, a boost during the critical end-of-the-year holiday shopping season.

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about its Chinese business plans.

2019-08-28 16:21:00Z
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/28/google-reportedly-moving-pixel-phone-production-out-of-china/