EU Fine, "Will Prevent Abuse by American Companies"
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated regarding the European Union (EU) imposing massive fines on the American company Apple, "We will ensure that the EU does not exploit American companies with these fines."
In an interview on the Patrick Bet-David (PBD) podcast aired on the 17th (local time), Trump revealed that he had a phone call with Apple's CEO Tim Cook, saying, "He told me that the EU imposed a $15 billion fine and also received another $2 billion fine."
Previously, the EU fined Apple 13 billion euros in 2016, claiming that Apple received illegal tax benefits from the Irish government, and in February, the EU imposed an 1.84 billion euro fine on Apple for violating antitrust laws related to its music streaming app service.
Trump said, "He (Tim Cook) told me something interesting?that the EU uses those fines to run their own companies," adding, "I told him that (if I am elected) such things will not happen."
In the same interview, Trump also boasted about exempting Apple from tariffs during his presidency to prevent Apple from being disadvantaged in competition with Samsung. He said that during his term, Tim Cook called him and came to meet him, saying, "You are going to impose a 25% tariff on us, but the problem is that we cannot compete with Samsung if that happens." Trump said, "I told him I would grant an exemption if they built a factory in the U.S., and he actually built a factory in Texas." He added, "He could have built more factories, but a terrible thing happened when the administration changed."
CEO Tim Cook had multiple discussions with former President Trump regarding tariffs during the 2019 U.S.-China trade war, when Trump threatened to impose a 15% tariff on Chinese products. During his presidency, Trump repeatedly boasted that "Samsung is Apple's number one competitor" and that he exempted Apple from tariff imposition.
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