Trump Holds Series of Meetings with Tech CEOs at Home... Apple’s Tim Cook Also Visits

Discussion on EU Fines and Related Issues

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with President-elect Donald Trump. Having maintained a close relationship since the first term of the administration, it is known that they discussed issues related to Apple.

On the 13th (local time), Cook visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and had a meeting and dinner with the President-elect, according to two sources cited by the US New York Times (NYT). This is the first time Cook has met Trump since the presidential election this year.

At this meeting, Cook reportedly requested support from Trump regarding Apple-related matters. In particular, they appeared to have discussed the EU's fines imposed on Apple for violating antitrust laws and Trump's announced plans to raise tariffs.

Before the election, Cook had also informed Trump about the EU's plan to impose fines and asked for his attention. Trump responded, "I will not stand by while Europe exploits American companies."

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The relationship between the two dates back to the first term of the administration. While it is customary in the US business world to communicate with the White House through executives or lobbyists dedicated to government relations, Cook directly called Trump and even shared meals with him. Trump praised a 2019 call with Cook, saying, "That's why he is a truly great businessman," and added, "He made the call when others did not."

Apple's receipt of policy support from the US government during Trump's first term is also attributed to Cook's efforts. A representative example is the exclusion of the iPhone from the administration's plan to impose a uniform 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Initially, tariffs were planned to be imposed on iPhones assembled and imported from China. Cook persuaded Trump by saying, "Tariffs will lead to higher prices for iPhone consumers in the US," and "Only foreign competitors like Samsung will benefit."

Recently, US big tech executives have been working to build friendly relationships with Trump. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon; Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta; and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, each donated $1 million (approximately 1.4 billion KRW) to Trump's inauguration.