Trade
6 years ago

Trump to discuss trade issues with Apple CEO

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US President Donald Trump is going to hold meeting with Apple Inc Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to discuss trade issues amid tariff spat between the United States and China.

Trump, in a tweet ahead of the meeting, said they would discuss other issues but gave no details, reports Reuters.

“Looking forward to my meeting with Tim Cook of Apple. We will be talking about many things, including how the U.S. has been treated unfairly for many years, by many countries, on trade,” he wrote.

Apple officials did not respond to a request for comment about what topics Cook wanted to cover at the White House meeting on Wednesday afternoon (local time).

Apple and other hardware makers have deep ties with China, a manufacturing hub for the iPhone maker and other companies.

Cook has urged an easing of tensions between the two countries and called more open trade after Trump last month announced tariffs on certain Chinese imports, and China retaliated with tariffs on some American goods.

Trump, a Republican, has had a tense relationship with the US technology industry, based in Democratic strongholds such as California’s Silicon Valley and in Seattle.

He has clashed with the tech sector on a wide variety of issues including trade, immigration and the environment.

Cook, who attended Trump’s first state dinner at the White House on Tuesday night, has publicly objected to the president’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and criticised the US president’s comments after last year’s violence in Charlottesville of Virginia.

US and Chinese officials have been working to resolve the feud between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump in March vowed to impose about $50 billion of US tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting China to retaliate with levies on about $3 billion of US imports.

Trump then threatened $100 billion in additional tariffs.

Trump’s first round of import tariffs excluded most consumer electronics.

But the second could have a more direct impact on US shoppers by targeting cell phones, computers and other consumer goods and prompting price increases at Apple stores and other US retailers.

On Tuesday, however, Trump said there was “a very good chance” the two countries could reach a deal as a US delegation prepared to head to China in a few days.

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