Apple’s Tim Cook meeting with Trump as tariffs threaten iPhones

Cook’s company risks being caught in the middle of an escalating trade fight between the US and China, with Trump’s 10% tariff on Chinese-made goods posing a challenge for Apple as it seeks to address sluggish iPhone sales. China is weighing a probe into Apple’s policies and the fees it charges app developers. China is Apple’s biggest manufacturing hub, while the US is its largest market.

During Trump’s first term, Cook was able to leverage his relationship with the president to win tariff carve-outs for its signature iPhone. But the president has suggested that the company’s devices might not be so lucky this time as he seeks to impose sweeping new tariffs on imported goods, telling reporters that he’s looking to avoid exemptions.

Shortly following the election, Cook posted to social media that Apple looked “forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity.”

But Trump has also sparred with the company over its privacy policies, saying it should do more to help federal law enforcement access encrypted phones. Apple has resisted 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, saying that could leave phones vulnerable to hackers.