(The Hill) – The Biden administration declined to veto the ban on certain Apple Watch imports into the U.S., letting the ban officially take effect Tuesday. This means Apple will no longer be selling affected models at its stores or online.
This comes as Apple faces a legal dispute over the technology the smartwatches use to run the blood oxygen feature on the devices.
On Oct. 26, the International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld a January ruling that sided with the medical technology company Masimo, which in 2021 sued Apple for patent infringement at the ITC over the Apple Watch Series 6.
Masimo accused the tech giant of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets related to the light-based technology for measuring blood-oxygen levels, which was first featured in the Apple Watch Series 6 smartwatch.
Masimo originally sued Apple in federal court in 2020, but the case ended in a mistrial in May. Apple also counter-sued Masimo, accusing the company of copying its technology.
The Biden administration had 60 days to decide whether to veto the import ban or to let it go into effect. On Tuesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives issued a statement saying it would not intervene.
“Since 2005, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has been delegated the President’s authority under Section 337 of the Trade Act of 1930 to review the ITC’s decision for a 60-day period,” the statement read.
“After careful consultations, Ambassador [Katherine] Tai decided not to reverse the ITC’s determination and the ITC’s decision became final on December 26, 2023,” the statement continued. Tai is the U.S. Trade Representative.
Apple has filed an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court to overturn the ruling, CNN reports. The company said in a statement that it was pursuing legal and technical options, which includes submitting a redesign of the watches for U.S. Customs approval.
In a statement to Nexstar earlier this month, Apple said it “strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.”
As it currently stands, only the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models would be affected. The Apple Watch SE will still be available, according to the company, and other models that include the blood oxygen feature (including already-purchased Series 9 and Ultra 2 models) are not affected by the ban.
