Recently, in a statement, Trump revealed a phone call he made with Apple’s (AAPL, Financial) CEO, Tim Cook, during his campaign for the presidency, asserting likely future policy promises to dominant IT companies in America. The conversation was mentioned during a podcast episode when Patrick Bet-David interviewed Cook, who was worried about massive fines inflicted on Apple by the European Union.
Trump says that Cook said they were fined $15 billion by the EU after the EU’s Court of Justice ruled that Ireland provided Apple with an unfair advantage in the field of taxation. This ruling supported a 2016 ruling, forcing Apple to return 13 billion euros in unpaid taxes. Adding more aggravation for Apple to deal with in Europe this year, the iPhone maker received a $2 billion antitrust penalty for prohibiting music streaming rivals, including Spotify, from decentralizing Apple’s payment platform on the iPhone.
Trump’s reaction to Cook’s distress signals perhaps a political position that can be embraced by companies feeling the heat from international regulators.” Tim, that was a lovely speech, but I have to let you know I have to get elected first. But I won’t let them off the hook and take advantage of our companies like it was their own. That will not be happening, he said, according to the media.
This exchange occurs as electoral dynamics change, and prominent members of the business world, such as Elon Musk, actively funded Trump’s campaign. It suggests a twist of tech titans who may turn their backs on a candidate seen with an upper hand should uncompromising anti-EU policies be implemented.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
