Tim Cook was 'punished' by Mr. Trump?

No longer receiving goodwill from US President Donald Trump, CEO Tim Cook makes Apple's situation worse.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. Photo: Reuters .

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s mid-May trip to the Middle East, the White House encouraged several American companies to send representatives along. Apple CEO Tim Cook received the invitation but declined, according to the New York Times .

Cook's decision appeared to upset Mr. Trump. During a trip from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, the US president made critical statements about the Apple CEO.

Trump has a problem with Tim Cook

Speaking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang for agreeing to travel to the Middle East with the White House delegation. The president then criticized Tim Cook.

“I mean, Tim Cook didn’t come here, but you did,” Trump said at the event, which was attended by CEOs such as Larry Fink (BlackRock), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jane Fraser (Citigroup) and Lisa Su (AMD).

While in Qatar, Trump continued to say that he “had a little problem with Tim Cook.” He praised Apple’s investment in the US, but complained about the location of iPhone production.

“I understand you are building manufacturing facilities all over India. I don’t want you building factories in India,” Mr. Trump declared.

Tim Cook and Donald Trump at a meeting in 2019. Photo: Bloomberg .

On May 23, Trump surprised many in the administration and Apple's leadership when he threatened to impose a 25% tax on all iPhones manufactured outside the United States.

This statement puts Apple back in the sights of the US government, just one month after Mr. Trump announced a temporary suspension of 145% tariffs on smartphones imported from China.

The tariff threat represents a reversal for Cook, who has gone from being one of the president’s most popular tech leaders to being in the White House’s crosshairs, raising questions about whether one of Trump’s closest tech leaders has lost his voice, according to the New York Times.

Challenges surround Apple

Nu Wexler, who heads Four Corners Public Affairs and is a former director of policy communications at Google and Facebook, said the “very public relationship” between Cook and Mr. Trump was counterproductive.

“This puts Apple at a disadvantage because every move, including concessions from Mr. Trump, is being carefully considered,” said Wexler.

He said that at present, Trump seems to want to impose strong measures on Apple, rather than choosing an easy solution like cutting tariffs.

Mr Trump's new tariffs came after the Financial Times reported that Foxconn would invest $1.5 billion to build an iPhone factory in India. The president said the tariffs, which will take effect at the end of June, will apply to all smartphones made abroad, including Samsung.

Users buy iPhones at Apple stores. Photo: Bloomberg .

Last week, Cook traveled to Washington to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Appearing on Fox News , Bessent stressed that the administration views overseas semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing as “one of our major vulnerabilities,” which Apple could help address.

“President Trump has been clear that he wants to bring manufacturing back to the United States, which is critical to our national security and our economy , including semiconductors and semiconductor products,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. But he said the administration still has a “good relationship” with Apple.

In fact, this isn’t the only challenge Apple has faced in recent times. In April, Apple lost a lawsuit over its App Store. The judge even accused the company of “blatant deception” and Cook of “missteps,” declaring that Apple must change the way it operates its app store.

Jony Ive, known as “Apple design wizard,” joined OpenAI last week to develop a device that could replace the iPhone. In March, Apple lost credibility by delaying the release of a new version of Siri, while its Vision Pro augmented reality glasses failed to sell after a year on the market.

Trump's Purpose

Apple's brand value has increased by more than $2.5 trillion under Cook, averaging $500 million a day since 2011. Apple remains a money-making machine, generating nearly $100 billion in annual profits.

With Trump re-elected, Cook faces a difficult task in winning over the new administration. In 2019, Trump said Cook was “a great leader because he calls me and other people don’t.”

Cook has occasionally taken issue with the president’s projects. In a 2017 interview with Fortune , the Apple CEO explained that the company would love to manufacture in the United States, but that China has more skilled engineers. Cook also appeared on MSNBC a few months later, criticizing the president’s immigration policies.

To date, the relationship between Cook and Trump has been strained. Trump is adamant about moving high-tech manufacturing to the US, and Apple has been a prime target.

On other US government initiatives such as the elimination of the Diversity in Organizations (DEI) initiative, Cook's stance is somewhat softer.

At its annual shareholder meeting in February, Cook said Apple remained committed to “a guiding principle of dignity and respect for all people,” would continue to “create a culture of belonging,” but might have to change to fit the context.

Apple is one of the companies that has been in Trump's sights since the tariffs were announced. Photo: Telegraph India .

But Apple’s bigger problem is its business operations, which have shifted away from a commitment to making iPhones, iPads or MacBooks in the US and instead shifted to ramping up iPhone assembly in India.

Apple tried to "please" Trump when announcing a $500 billion investment in the US over the next 4 years. Cook also emphasized that Apple will produce 19 billion chips from the US this year, and plans to produce AI servers in Houston.

But that’s not enough. The desire to manufacture iPhones in the US is so great that Mr. Trump is willing to impose an additional 25% tax on iPhones.

According to the New York Times , this cost is not large enough to harm Apple's business, but Mr. Trump can absolutely increase taxes to achieve his goal.

"If they want to sell iPhones in the United States, I want it made in the United States. They can do it," the president declared.

Source: https://znews.vn/chuyen-gi-dang-xay-ra-voi-tim-cook-post1556127.html