The ongoing trade war between the United States and the rest of the world has seen huge tariffs levied against, among others, China. That had the potential to increase the price of iPhones and other Apple products — but Apple CEO Tim Cook was able to intervene.
That’s according to a report by The Washington Post, which claims that Cook had a call with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week to explain how tariffs would mean people paying more for iPhones.
Cook spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week about the potential impact of the tariffs on iPhone prices, two people familiar with the phone call said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect private conversations that were previously unreported. Cook spoke with other senior officials in the White House, the people said. And he refrained from publicly criticizing the president or his policies on national television, as many other executives have over the past several weeks.
Ultimately, Cook’s work wasn’t in vain, with the Trump administration exempting iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, and iPad products from the tariffs applied to Chinese goods. The exemption is temporary, however, with Trump confirming that there is “no tariff exception”.
Ultimately, Trump claims that Apple and other similar companies will be moved into a different bracket, potentially carving out specialist tariffs relating to their imports.
The Washington Post notes that Cook chose not to publicly call Trump out about the impacts that tariffs would cause, unlike some other CEOs, which is sure to have been well received by the administration.
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