U.S. trade regulators approve tariff exemption for Apple Watches

(Reuters) – U.S. trade regulators have approved Apple Inc’s request to waive tariffs on China-made Apple Watches, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said in a letter dated Friday.

The iPhone maker had requested for an exclusion in October, seeking relief from U.S. tariffs of 15% that took effect on Sept. 1.

Apple’s wearables and accessories business, which includes Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod, raked in revenue of $24.5 billion in its fiscal year ended Sept. 2019, accounting for about 9.4% of its total sales.

Shares of the company were last down 2.3% at $223.89. The stock pared some losses after a Nikkei report said iPhone assembler Foxconn had secured enough workers to meet “seasonal demand” at all major Chinese plants.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Anil D’Silva)