However, this is the first time when we have seen this ‘Product of Thailand’ label on an Apple product. In 2019, Apple announced quite boldly that it will manufacture the Mac Pro in Austin, Texas after the company was allowed tariff exemptions from the Donald Trump government. The exemptions facilitated the import of certain components from outside the US. Carrying forward its claims of 2019, Apple is still putting its famous Designed in California label on the 2023 Mac Pro, indicating that the product is still manufactured in the U.S. The new label on Mac Pro as revealed in an FCC filing now reads, “Designed by Apple in California. Product of Thailand. Final assembly in the USA.” While it is not clear why Apple is adding “Product of Thailand” specifically on 2023 Mac Pro models. There has not been any such change in the recently announced Mac Pro that would warrant a Product of Thailand label. The new Mac Pro comes with the M2 Ultra chip and the design remains mostly the same as the previous generation Mac Pro. Although a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in February this year mentioned that the 2023 Mac Pro will be manufactured in Vietnam which is highly contrasting as compared to the “Made in USA” 2019 Intel Mac Pro.
What does the word “Assembled” mean?
The history of the word “assembled” has remained quite unclear. The word has different connotations and there’s no standard definition of “assembled”. While one might assume that assembling a product means putting together its different components to create a final product, it is not the case now. 9to5Mac writes about how assembling is not exactly fabricating components has changed when it comes to Mac devices. “The big trend in Mac interior design in recent years has been for fewer and fewer elements. That is, instead of a CPU being plugged into a circuit board, with separate GPU and RAM chips being similarly added, the “component” is now a motherboard with CPU and GPU sitting inside a single chip, and the board already populated with both RAM (really, unified memory) and SSD storage.”
Possible reasons behind the ‘Product of Thailand’ label
So, now the question arises why Apple is adding additional text on Mac Pro starting this year. There are two possibilities here. One is a regulatory obligation that requires the company to disclose its “assembling” process which might be misleading for consumers with its earlier “Assembled in USA” tag. It could be the reason why Apple has changed the wording from “Assembled in USA” to “Final Assembly in the USA”. Second, the company is required to disclose that it sources components from Thailand or Thailand government has promised incentives for Apple in import duties on components in exchange for the country’s name on the 2023 Mac Pro.
title: “New Mac Pro Has A Product Of Thailand Label But It Is Assembled In Usa” ShowToc: true date: “2023-07-05” author: “Lisa Alcantara”
However, this is the first time when we have seen this ‘Product of Thailand’ label on an Apple product. In 2019, Apple announced quite boldly that it will manufacture the Mac Pro in Austin, Texas after the company was allowed tariff exemptions from the Donald Trump government. The exemptions facilitated the import of certain components from outside the US. Carrying forward its claims of 2019, Apple is still putting its famous Designed in California label on the 2023 Mac Pro, indicating that the product is still manufactured in the U.S. The new label on Mac Pro as revealed in an FCC filing now reads, “Designed by Apple in California. Product of Thailand. Final assembly in the USA.” While it is not clear why Apple is adding “Product of Thailand” specifically on 2023 Mac Pro models. There has not been any such change in the recently announced Mac Pro that would warrant a Product of Thailand label. The new Mac Pro comes with the M2 Ultra chip and the design remains mostly the same as the previous generation Mac Pro. Although a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in February this year mentioned that the 2023 Mac Pro will be manufactured in Vietnam which is highly contrasting as compared to the “Made in USA” 2019 Intel Mac Pro.
What does the word “Assembled” mean?
The history of the word “assembled” has remained quite unclear. The word has different connotations and there’s no standard definition of “assembled”. While one might assume that assembling a product means putting together its different components to create a final product, it is not the case now. 9to5Mac writes about how assembling is not exactly fabricating components has changed when it comes to Mac devices. “The big trend in Mac interior design in recent years has been for fewer and fewer elements. That is, instead of a CPU being plugged into a circuit board, with separate GPU and RAM chips being similarly added, the “component” is now a motherboard with CPU and GPU sitting inside a single chip, and the board already populated with both RAM (really, unified memory) and SSD storage.”
Possible reasons behind the ‘Product of Thailand’ label
So, now the question arises why Apple is adding additional text on Mac Pro starting this year. There are two possibilities here. One is a regulatory obligation that requires the company to disclose its “assembling” process which might be misleading for consumers with its earlier “Assembled in USA” tag. It could be the reason why Apple has changed the wording from “Assembled in USA” to “Final Assembly in the USA”. Second, the company is required to disclose that it sources components from Thailand or Thailand government has promised incentives for Apple in import duties on components in exchange for the country’s name on the 2023 Mac Pro.
