Trump may have given the Apple iPhone a hall pass around tariffs thanks to CEO Tim Cook’s negotiations with Trump, according to published reports
President Donald Trump has reassured Apple CEO Tim Cook that the iPhone will not be on any of the White House’s tariff lists, according to published reports.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Cook visited Trump in the White House last month to talk about the administration’s tax cuts. At the time, Cook explained to Trump why tariffs could reverse the tax-cut benefits for U.S. businesses. Most of Apple’s products are manufactured in China by Foxconn, a Chinese manufacturer. The Times cited an anonymous source familiar with the talks, saying that the Trump administration has said that it would not place tariffs on iPhones, which are assembled in China.
In the Obama administration, then-Apple CEO and Founder Steve Jobs famously rebuffed Obama’s ask for Apple to repatriate some of its manufacturing jobs to the US. Jobs said it wasn’t going to happen. Despite some claims from Trump that he had convinced Apple to open manufacturing plants in the U.S., the same situation exists: Apple has no plans to open U.S. manufacturing plants, according to The New York Times article.
Apple may be nervous about China’s ability and will to slow down supply chains as a form of retaliation. Apple has a lot to lose, as it is said to be the ninth largest company worldwide, according to Fortune. The Times noted that under Cook’s leadership, Apple has grown its operations in China to the tune of annual revenues of about $50 billion, or nearly a quarter of its annual global revenues.
