Tim Cook has been attempting to woo President Trump into ending trade tariffs that could have seen price hikes for the Mac Pro and iPhone 11 – and it may have just worked.
President Trump has declared: “[Tim Cook] made a very compelling argument. It’s tough for Apple to pay tariffs if it’s competing with a very good company that’s not.”
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NEW: Pres. Trump said he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Bedminster, adding that Cook "made a very compelling argument" that tariffs are making it hard for Apple to compete with companies like Samsung. "I'm thinking about it." https://t.co/TVq7yKJSle pic.twitter.com/LktWUkkJdt
— ABC News (@ABC) August 18, 2019
According to TheNextWeb, Tim Cook pleaded Apple’s case at a dinner with Trump over the weekend. Cook argued that the tariffs put Apple at a disadvantage against companies like Samsung.
The meeting was held on Friday night as the president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Trump previously said there would be no exemptions for Apple if they moved Mac Pro production to China.
Trump made the declaration after Apple applied for the reprieve earlier in July. The Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Mouse were also included in the exemption application.
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If Apple does not manage to get an exemption, its products made in China will fall under a 10 per cent import tax from the 1st of September.
The Apple Watch and AirPods will be affected from this date while the iPhone, iPad and MacBook will be subject to the tax from the 15th of December.
According to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors), Apple could choose to avoid passing on the burden of the tariffs to customers by absorbing the cost itself.
Samsung would avoid the tariffs coming out of the US/China trade war as the company is primarily based in South Korea – as well as some other countries but not China.
Apple isn’t the only company concerned with the prospect of tariffs on Chinese goods. Lenovo recently warned its investors it would see a hit from the tariffs as – unlike Apple – they could lead to price rises for customers.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
