"Was it because of this?", Trump's 25% Tariff Bill Revealed...

[Financial News] Recently, it has been pointed out that the reason President Donald Trump issued a 25% tariff warning to Apple's smartphones is due to his displeasure with Apple CEO Tim Cook. This is because President Trump requested Tim Cook to accompany him on a Middle East tour, but Cook refused. President Trump also remarked, "There is a slight problem with Tim Cook."
On the 26th (local time), the New York Times (NYT) reported that the White House requested American business CEOs to accompany President Trump's Middle East tour from the 13th to the 16th, but Tim Cook refused. Multiple sources were cited. The NYT reported that President Trump seemed displeased with Cook's refusal to accompany him, citing several instances where Trump targeted Cook during the Middle East tour.
On May 14th, during a speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Trump openly compared NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Trump praised Huang, saying, "Tim Cook is not here, but you are," referring to Huang who accompanied him on the Middle East tour. Similar targeting remarks were made during his visit to Qatar. While praising Apple's investment in the U.S., he also said, "But now they are building a factory in India. I told Tim Cook that I don't want a factory in India," adding, "There is a slight problem with Tim Cook."
After the tour, Trump showed his exact "aftermath" to Apple. On the 23rd, just a week after the tour ended, he warned of a 25% tariff imposition through social media (SNS) Truth Social. President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "I want iPhones sold in the U.S. to be manufactured in the U.S., not in India or another country, and I informed Cook CEO of this a long time ago."

New Wessler, who was in charge of policy communication at Google and Facebook, told the NYT, "Trump has no reason to negotiate tariffs with Apple or to be lenient," adding, "Rather, there is more reason to pressure Apple (through tariff policies, etc.)." However, smartphone tariffs apply not only to Apple but to all companies manufacturing outside the U.S. and exporting to the U.S. Trump has stated that the tariff imposition will be applied by the end of June. If the 25% smartphone tariff is implemented as it is, Samsung Electronics, which holds a market share of around 20-30% per quarter in the U.S. market, will also face increased burdens.


ksh@fnnews.com Seonghwan Kim Reporter