Trump says Apple will spend ‘vast sums’ in US

Washington, August 17

Donald Trump said on Friday that tech giant Apple would be spending “vast sums” of money in the US in a tweet ahead of a dinner meeting with its CEO Tim Cook.

The men have had several informal meetings before, including at Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump is reportedly on a working holiday at his golf course.

“Having dinner tonight with Tim Cook of Apple. They will be spending vast sums of money in the U.S. Great!” he tweeted at around 7 pm local time.

The meeting follows Thursday’s announcement from Apple that it has invested roughly $60 billion in the US, and currently employs some 90,000 people in the country.

Many of the tech giant’s products are assembled in China and the company opposes incoming tariffs—an issue Trump is fixated on—of 10 percent on goods manufactured in China, due to come into force on September 1.

Trump has rejected Apple’s calls for an exemption on its products, tweeting in July the company should, “Make them in the USA, No Tariffs!” But his administration announced Thursday tariffs on some goods would be delayed until December.

Apple did not immediately respond to comment about the dinner, and Trump did not tweet again about the meeting, or what was discussed.

The president’s latest missive comes after a gaffe in March when he referred to Cook as “Tim Apple”.

Trump later claimed the naming was deliberate and a “time saving” measure. — AFP