Trump Says Tim Cook Made 'Good Case' That Tariffs Would Put Apple at Disadvantage With Rivals Like Samsung

Apple CEO Tim Cook and U.S. President Donald Trump met for dinner on Friday evening, and Trump has since told reporters that the two discussed the impact of U.S. tariffs on Apple products imported from China.

tim cook donald melania trump

Melania Trump, Donald Trump, and ‌Tim Cook‌ in August 2018

Trump said Cook "made a good case" that tariffs could put Apple at a disadvantage given that rival Samsung's products would be less impacted by the tariffs, according to Reuters. "I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I'm thinking about it," Trump said, speaking at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey.

The U.S. plans to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on approximately $300 billion of Chinese imports on September 1, but last week it delayed the tariff to December 15 for products including the iPhone, iPad, and MacBooks. Other products like the Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod are still set to be impacted September 1.

In a letter to the Trump administration in June, Apple urged against the tariffs, claiming that they would reduce the company's contribution to the U.S. economy and weigh on its global competitiveness.

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Top Rated Comments

verpeiler Avatar
74 months ago
I wonder how it feels for Tim Cook to meet such a simple-minded person like president Trump, and actually having a conversation with him.
Score: 129 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A MacBook lover Avatar
74 months ago
It's stories like this that make it apparent how Trump hasn't managed to royally **** up the country the way so many of us expected him to. Don't get me wrong, the man is a total moron and a pompous ass, but as long as other, smarter people with rationale are able to keep him from destroying the economy (and the world) then all the better.

Hopefully we can keep it up until November of next year when we will restore some order and class to the White House.
Yet we have a booming economy. More jobs, low unemployment, and were finally standing up to a country that commits humanitarian atrocities, steals $300b in intellectual property, and cheats America for jobs.


China has stolen IP from Tesla ('https://electrek.co/2019/03/21/tesla-chinese-startup-xpeng-stole-autopilot-source-code-former-employee/'), this makes Tesla less competitive as Xpeng can undercut Tesla, as they didn’t have to invest millions in R&D, they just stole the source code.

China almost successfully stole IP from Apple ('https://www.macobserver.com/news/apple-employee-steals-ip-china/')

1 in 5 corporations have had some form of IP theft from China in last year.


('https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/28/1-in-5-companies-say-china-stole-their-ip-within-the-last-year-cnbc.html')
Score: 83 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Z400Racer37 Avatar
74 months ago
Free market capitalist my @$$. The idea that Tim Cook needs to plead with he top elected official of his own government in the hopes that he'll protect his rights, when that's his only proper function as President is an abominable state for this country occupy. What a shameful "leader."
Score: 82 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrazyForApple Avatar
74 months ago
President Trump is the man! Tim Cook, not so much.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A MacBook lover Avatar
74 months ago
Hey, let me know how that "booming economy" is going in a year or so.
Said in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
technole Avatar
74 months ago
Tim Apple working to keep shareholders happy, good to see regardless of his affiliation he's willing to make his case the right way.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)