President Trump says he has a "little problem with Tim Cook," apparently because Foxconn — a company that Cook is not the CEO of — has been expanding factories in India for years.
The agreement by both the US and China to pause tariffs might make things easier in the very short term, and it may lead to a deal, but it hides that American consumers and firms will still have to deal with extreme expenses and other trade changes that do nothing but harm.
Apple's Tim Cook attended President Trump's gathering of business CEOs via satellite, and committed the company to working with the administration.
Reports of Amazon planning to display the specific impact of President Trump's tariffs on everything it sells, angered the White House — but now the retailer claims there was never any such plan for the main site.
The lack of strategy in the Trump administration's execution of tariffs continues, as the President promises to "set the tariff" on entities that don't make deals in the "next couple of weeks."
It's no secret that Apple and other big tech companies have been making moves to earn President Trump's favor, but Senator Warren wants details on these interactions to determine if lines were crossed.
While the European Union has now fined Apple for what it claims is non-compliance with its Digital Markets Act, the sum involved has been kept low to avoid increasing EU/US trade tensions.
Apple could be severely affected as Trump reportedly pressures countries to limit their business dealings with China, which will result in more retaliations against US companies.
The European Union has reportedly postponed fining Apple and Meta over alleged Digital Markets Act violations, specifically so the decision would not affect trade negotiations.
Despite scaremongering headlines, Trump did not escalate his "reciprocal" China tariff to 245% on Tuesday night. The figure is a reinstatement of previous tariffs that don't apply to Apple or big tech at all.
To somehow support claims that the tariff exemption is not an exemption at all, the White House has announced an investigation into the entire semiconductor market segment.
While denying he ever changes his mind, Trump has now said he helped out Apple with tariffs because of conversations with Tim Cook.
Apple opened trading on Monday, April 14, 2025, at its highest price since President Donald Trump first announced tariffs — despite White House officials warning that exemptions are temporary.
In the latest trade back-and-forth, China has surged its tariff rate on US goods from 84% to 125%, at the same time saying it won't negotiate if the U.S. continues to engage in "trade blackmail."
Despite repeated political promises recently saying otherwise, because of federal wants and big business needs over the last 100 years, the U.S. lacks both the low-cost labor and specialized manufacturing workforce needed to bring iPhone production home.
Investment firm Morgan Stanley theorizes that Apple has long-term options to protect its iPhone 17 Pro prices from tariff hikes, including steering buyers to larger storage capacities, which have a greater profit margin.
With a 104% tariff now in effect on Chinese-made iPhone models, Apple is bracing for higher costs — but instead of raising prices outright, it may make changes it hopes you may not see.
A quote from the CEO of Luxshare is firing up speculation that AirPods production will move to the US, but the scaffolding of the statement is too flimsy to hold the weight of the guesswork.
Alongside its emergency importing of iPhones before tariffs hugely increased costs, Apple is now said to have also had Macs airlifted into the US.
President Trump believes iPhone manufacturing could shift to the US very quickly. He's wrong — it won't happen during his term, if it happens at all.
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William Gallagher
William Gallagher and Mike Wuerthele
Wesley Hilliard
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
