Apple CEO warns Trump that tariffs on China won’t work – CNET


Politics

Apple CEO warns Trump that tariffs on China won’t work

Cooperation is the best way to get what you want on trade from China, Tim Cook told President Trump last month.

apple-ipad-chicago-tim-cook-9457

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, had a meeting with President Donald Trump last month.

James Martin

In a meeting at the White House last month, Tim Cook tried to school President Trump on why his trade policies with China are a bad idea, according to an unaired interview with Bloomberg TV.

He also urged the President to address the legal status of immigrants known as Dreamers.

Cook met with Trump at the White House in April just as Trump’s rhetoric was heating up over trade talks between the U.S. and China. Trump imposed import tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese goods, which sparked the Chinese to retaliate. In an interview set to air next month, Cook admitted previous US trade policies had their shortcomings, but he said Trump’s approach isn’t the answer, according to Bloomberg.

He said he explained to Trump why tariffs “were not the right approach.” Instead, he suggested a cooperative relationship is more likely to yield positive results for both countries.  “And I showed him some more analytical kinds of things to demonstrate why,” he said in the interview, according to Bloomberg.

Apple produces most of its products in China. It’s also an important and growing market for the company.  Apple is the fifth largest smartphone vendor in the country.

Cook also asked Trump to find a resolution for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, the Bloomberg report said. Congress has failed to come up with a replacement to the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA that was implemented under President Obama. This program allowed people brought the country illegally as children to work and go to school.

President Trump announced in September he was ending the program and gave Congress until March to come up with a permanent solution. Congress failed to act, but the courts have stepped in. And for now DACA recipients are allowed to stay in the country. But their situation is precarious.

“We’re only one ruling away from a catastrophic case there,” Cook said in the interview according to Bloomberg.

Cook has been outspoken about his support for DACA and Dreamers.

Cook also provided a few other tidbits of information about some of its products. He said that the Apple Music streaming service has more than 50 million users on either its paid subscriptions or free trials. In April the company said it had passed 40 million subscribers. Cook also said Apple will make a stronger push into streaming video and original TV content, according to the report. 

All Rights Reserved.
Affiliate Disclosure
CNET may get a commission from retail offers.
Top Brands



Source link

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *