Tim Cook to Meet Donald Trump as Tariffs Threaten iPhones

President Donald Trump will meet with CEO Tim Cook of Apple Inc. at the White House on Thursday.

During the presidential transition, Cook visited the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and attended his inauguration last month, joining a number of other tech industry leaders who have attempted to build a close relationship with the president since his reelection.

With Trump's 10% tariff on Chinese goods posing a challenge to Apple as it looks to address slow iPhone sales, Cook's company runs the risk of becoming embroiled in an increasingly intense trade war between the United States and China. Apple's policies and the fees it charges app developers are being investigated in China. The United States is Apple's biggest market, and China is its biggest manufacturing location.

During Trump's first term, Cook was able to use his relationship with the president to secure tariff exemptions for Apple's signature iPhone. However, the president has hinted that the company's devices may not be so lucky this time as he seeks to impose broad new tariffs on imported goods, telling reporters that he wants to avoid exemptions.

Shortly after the election, Cook stated on social media that Apple "looks forward to engaging with you and your administration to help ensure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity."

However, Trump has also criticized the company's privacy policies, claiming that it should do more to assist federal law enforcement in accessing encrypted phones. Apple has refused requests from law enforcement to build a backdoor into its phone operating system that would allow authorities to access data without a user's password, citing concerns that this would leave phones vulnerable to hackers.