Apple Inc. said Monday it will keep manufacturing its Mac Pro computers in Austin, after the company received exemptions from some proposed federal tariffs.



The tech giant's announcement comes three months after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple planned to move Mac Pro manufacturing to China. The newspaper's June report cited a number of challenges, including declining demand and manufacturing capacity. The company had also been at odds with President Donald Trump's administration over proposed tariffs on Chinese goods that would affect the company's imports.

In a written statement Monday, Apple said it will be able to keep manufacturing the Mac Pro in the United States after U.S. trade officials approved exemptions that allow Apple to import key Mac Pro parts from China without being subject to tariffs.

Apple said the company "will begin production soon at the same Austin facility where Mac Pro has been made since 2013."

The desktop computer has been manufactured in the Flextronics Americas factory in Northwest Austin, which CEO Tim Cook first confirmed in 2013. Apple recently redesigned the product for a re-release this year, with initial pricing starting at $5,999.

Apple did not disclose how many manufacturing employees are currently employed in Austin.

“The Mac Pro is Apple’s most powerful computer ever and we’re proud to be building it in Austin,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a written statement. “We thank the administration for their support enabling this opportunity.”

In July, Trump had said Apple needed to make Mac Pros in the U.S to avoid a 25% tariff, and that the company would not receive exemptions. However, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Friday agreed to grant tariff exemptions for partially assembled main circuit boards and graphics cards, which contain chips from Intel, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Apple is using Intel’s Xeon processor in the new Mac Pros.

Apple says that last year it spent $60 billion on manufacturing in the United States, with over 9,000 suppliers. The company said it plans to invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy by 2023.

“We believe deeply in the power of American innovation. That’s why every Apple product is designed and engineered in the U.S., and made up of parts from 36 states, supporting 450,000 jobs with US suppliers, and we’re going to continue growing here," Cook said.

Austin has grown into a significant hub for Apple's operations. Including contractors, the company has about 7,000 employees in the Austin metro area. And in December, the company announced a plan to invest $1 billion in a new 133-acre corporate campus in Austin and add 5,000 workers to its Central Texas payroll. The new campus could eventually accommodate up to 15,000 workers, Apple said.