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.

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.

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...

Top Rated Comments

verpeiler Avatar
84 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
84 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
84 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
84 months ago
President Trump is the man! Tim Cook, not so much.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A MacBook lover Avatar
84 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
84 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)