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

[MacRumors]

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.

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.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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

 

[technole]

Tim Apple working to keep shareholders happy, good to see regardless of his affiliation he's willing to make his case the right way.

 

[Z400Racer37]

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."

 

[verpeiler]

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.

 

[dmylrea]

Can someone point out the most trustworthy person in that picture? I can't decide.

Does every company in the US who imports from China but has a non-China competitor get a pass, too?

 

[CrazyForApple]

President Trump is the man! Tim Cook, not so much.

 

[Wiesenlooser]

Their relationship is so weird:

1. Trump really seems to have respect for Tim Cook. You wouldn't expect him to say "Ah yes, he actually makes good points, I'll think about it"

2. It's weird that from all business leaders - it seems that Tim Cook is the one who has the closest relationship with president Trump. In many ways he is the "Anti Trump". I can't help imagining Cook thinking "what an idiot" everytime they meet.

3. What if they actually are friends? That would be an even stranger relationship of a political leader and a celebrity being friends than Kim-Jong Un and Dennis Rodman.

For disclosure: I'm European and while I find Trump irritating, I wouldn't call myself Anti-Trump (nor pro-Trump).

 

[psingh01]

So does Samsung manufacture elsewhere? Why can they do it and Apple can’t?

 

[Gasu E.]

Does every company in the US who imports from China but has a non-China competitor get a pass, too?

Are you saying, in other words, that Apple's supply chain is a problem for the USA, but Samsung's isn't? I suspect Apple's iPhone generates more jobs in the USA than comparable Samsung products do. Do you believe that is true?

 

[thekev]

Tax policy should really be a strictly congressional matter. It's pretty ridiculous that Trump can actually dictate these things.

 

[brinary001]

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.

 

[lederermc]

Their relationship is so weird:

1. Trump really seems to have respect for Tim Cook. You wouldn't expect him to say "Ah yes, he actually makes good points, I'll think about it"

2. It's weird that from all business leaders - it seems that Tim Cook is the one who has the closest relationship with president Trump. In many ways he is the "Anti Trump". I can't help imagining Cook thinking "what an idiot" everytime they meet.

3. What if they actually are friends? That would be an even stranger relationship of a political leader and a celebrity being friends than Kim-Jong Un and Dennis Rodman.

For disclosure: I'm European and while I find Trump irritating, I wouldn't call myself Anti-Trump (nor pro-Trump).

Trump respects power and is envious of the successful business that Apple has. However, if Tim Cook also owned a major newspaper (like the Washington Post) and it criticized Trump then the tariffs would be double.

 

[A MacBook lover]

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, 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

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

 

[jonblatho]

Yet we have a booming economy. More jobs, low unemployment, and were finally standing up to a country that commits humanitarian atrocities, steal intellectually property, and cheats America for job.

Hey, let me know how that "booming economy" is going in a year or so.

 

[A MacBook lover]

Hey, let me know how that "booming economy" is going in a year or so.

Said in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

[simonmet]

Aren’t Samsung phones predominantly made in China as well? I mean, assembled in Korea maybe?

 

[extricated]

I’m neither for or against Trump - not getting into those reasons here; but, on point, he is absolutely wrong in his stance on tariffs. I hope he listens to, and applies, Tim’s “good points”.

 

[RowellE]

Did I read that right, new laptops in the MacBook line are coming this year?!

 

[sfwalter]

Who's this Tim Cook guy. I thought Tim Apple was in charge.

 

[pika2000]

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."

Is it? The fact that Trump is willing to listen from real CEOs to me actually sounds like a positive. The tariff stuff was obviously a political chess game against China, and often times political leaders do stuff for the sake of politics. So the fact that Trump is willing to listen to to real business showing the impact of his policies to me seems like a positive.

I mean what do you want, for Trump to ignore business impacts and march on with his political agenda? Sure, because that will satisfy your narrative of orange man is bad, but the business impact is still real.

 

[JosephAW]

iPhones are on par to be tariff free as much as bibles. Both are integral parts of the American culture.

 

[pika2000]

Aren’t Samsung phones predominantly made in China as well? I mean, assembled in Korea maybe?

Samsung has chip fabrication plant in Austin, Texas, in addition to China and S. Korea, with assembling plants in many countries.

 

[jonblatho]

Said in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

You realize that recessions happen about once every 5–10 years and, with that having been said, we're now well overdue for one, right? Economies don’t expand indefinitely, and we’re already seeing this current expansion approach its ceiling.

Over the next several months, there are several major events/factors — the most important being Brexit and trade warring — which pose serious risks to already slowing economic growth across the globe. Both the 2Y–10Y and 3M–10Y yield curves have inverted, both common and reliable indicators that a recession is on the horizon, likely to occur within 6–18 months.

The economy’s pretty much on stilts at this point, held together with duct tape and bubblegum and credit. It won’t take much to kick off a recession — so again, kindly let me know how the “booming” economy is working out in a year or so.

 

[Naraxus]

Translation: Apple pitched a hissy fit like a two year old child

 

[acorntoy]

Their relationship is so weird:

1. Trump really seems to have respect for Tim Cook. You wouldn't expect him to say "Ah yes, he actually makes good points, I'll think about it"

2. It's weird that from all business leaders - it seems that Tim Cook is the one who has the closest relationship with president Trump. In many ways he is the "Anti Trump". I can't help imagining Cook thinking "what an idiot" everytime they meet.

3. What if they actually are friends? That would be an even stranger relationship of a political leader and a celebrity being friends than Kim-Jong Un and Dennis Rodman.

For disclosure: I'm European and while I find Trump irritating, I wouldn't call myself Anti-Trump (nor pro-Trump).

Apple has done many things that could be seen as flattering to this administration (While ago Trump tweeted his tax cuts helped companies put money into the economy, couple of days later Apple releases a press release showing the billions they have and continue to invest in America). While they might not love each other, they both see they can use the other for their benefit.

Found it: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/17/apple-announces-350-billion-investment-20k-jobs-over-5-years.html

This was shortly after Trumps tweet. Very nicely aligned.