The Trump, Musk and Tim Cook triangle: how Apple will try for tariff exemptions

President elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs have the global tech industry all riled up as everyone awaits the new administration’s policies. Even TSMC has halted the completion of a U.S. plant as it cautiously waits to see how the new proposals will affect its relations with the American market. Amidst all this, Apple finds itself in a complex situation and will try its hardest to be granted exemptions and special privileges, notes Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his newsletter.Apple CEO Tim Cook had already managed to get Trump to grant the company certain exemptions from tariffs during the latter’s first term in office. As Gurman points out, Cook and Trump met very frequently at the White House during that time period, a stark contrast to the Biden administration era.

Cook and Trump also get along quite well: the two exchanged a call a few weeks back where Cook talked about the difficulties of conducting business in the EU. In fact, Cook may just be able to get Trump to exert some pressure on the EU during his presidency to get the region to relax its restrictions on Apple.

Back during the first Trump presidency Cook was able to get tariff relief after convincing the president that tariffs would put international rival Samsung at an advantage. Seeing as Trump’s entire tariff plan revolves around making American businesses stronger it’s not hard to understand why he relented.

But now, with Elon Musk in the picture, Cook might face a little more difficulty in getting Trump to give Apple special treatment.

Musk and Cook rivalry

Elon Musk isn’t a fan. | Video credit — Apple

The new administration has a key difference compared to the last one: the inclusion of controversial billionaire figure Elon Musk. Musk has had more than a few problems with how Apple conducts business in the past. In fact, according to Musk, Apple’s entire business model is unfair.

He has also taken issue with Apple’s App Store commissions in the past. Recently Musk has also criticized Apple for signing a deal with OpenAI to supplement Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16. He went as far as threatening to ban Apple devices at his companies — namely Tesla, SpaceX and X — an approach similar to what the Chinese government did earlier this year.

All of this, coupled with the fact that Musk is now a top advisor to Trump, may mean interference in Apple’s requests for tariff relief. And if that happens Apple may just have to move away more of its production from China to avoid the hefty 60 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

How Cook may approach Trump

Image credit — PhoneArena

Gurman, being familiar with the internal proceedings at Apple, outlines a few methods Cook might use to convince Trump to once again grant Apple special privileges.

Reiterating that these tariffs will help non-American rivals overtake Apple.
Letting Trump take credit for the fully made in America Mac Pro.
Calling the Arizona chip manufacturing plant a win for Trump’s administration when it becomes operational.
Completing the new campus in North Carolina to show the company’s dedication to the U.S.

If those steps sound a bit infantile to you, you’re not alone. However, they may be the only cards up Tim Cook’s sleeve for now. Presenting a bold “America first” face may just land Apple the tariff exemptions it will need to remain competitive in the U.S. market.

Whether Apple receives these exemptions or not it’s safe to assume that Cook is much happier about a Trump presidency. The Biden administration was never really as favorable to Apple as Trump and Cook is probably looking forward to a much easier four years of his life.

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Musk and Cook rivalry

How Cook may approach Trump

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