Donald Trump meets Apple CEO Tim Cook as White House tries to avoid trade war with China
Discussions come as administration prepares to send a delegation to Beijing to try to head off a trade war that could hurt the technology company
US President Donald Trump and two top aides discussed trade issues with Apple Inc chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday as the White House prepares to try to avert a trade war with China, a manufacturing hub for the iPhone maker.
Cook, who has urged calm during the recent flare in US trade tensions with China, held private talks with Trump in the Oval Office. He also spoke with the president’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Trump is preparing to send a delegation to China to try to head off a trade war that stands to harm Apple, the world’s largest technology company, and other hardware makers that build products in China.
Trump has threatened a new round of US$100 billion in tariffs on Chinese products that could target cellphones, computers and other consumer goods. China retaliated against an initial round of US$50 billion in tariffs.
The meeting, which the White House said had been in the works for a couple of weeks, came the day after Cook sat at Trump’s head table at his first state dinner, held in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron.