Tim Cook (left) with Donald Trump in a previous meeting — image credit: CNBC
The extra tariff added to all iPhones imported in the US may not have been about bringing manufacturing back to the US, but specifically to reprimand Tim Cook for skipping a Trump event.
On May 23, 2025, Trump announced that Apple would have to pay a 25% tariff on every iPhone imported into the US. AppleInsider noted at the time that it was unusual for Trump to acknowledge that US business would have to pay the fee, instead of inaccurately claiming that foreign countries would.
Now according to the New York Times, there appears to have been a reason for Apple being singled out. From May 13 to May 16, Trump was visiting the Middle East and bringing with him representatives of many US companies.
Apple was not in attendance.
Tump complains about Apple
Two unnamed sources say that Tim Cook declined Trump’s invitation to join the trip, and this is said to have irritated the president. What is certain is that Trump repeatedly referred to to Cook’s absence during the trip
“I mean, Tim Cook isn’t here, but you are,” Trump commented to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
That was at a Trump event also attended by OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Executives from AMD, BlackRock, and Citigroup were also in attendance.
It was during the trip when he was in Qatar, that Trump said he “had a little problem with Tim Cook.” Then it was following the trip that Trump announced the 25% tariff on iPhones, saying it was because Apple wasn’t making the devices in the US.
Trump’s announcement of the new tariff on his Truth Social platform reportedly surprised his own administration as much as it did Apple. There were of course no details, but subsequently, Trump announced that the tariff would start in June.
With the iPhone 17 launch happening in September, Apple will not be able to repeat its previously successful moves to beat tariff deadlines. Ahead of the “reciprocal” tariffs announced in April, Apple accelerated iPhone manufacture and airlifted extra devices into the US.
Apple managed to get an exemption from the “reciprocal” tariffs, although Trump later revised that to be a temporary measure. There is also a spurious national security investigation into semiconductors, whose conclusion has been prejudged by the White House and will mean further tariffs.
It’s not remotely clear whether the new 25% tariff will come entirely on top of whatever other tariffs are introduced or reintroduced. Apple has previously said that it expects to pay out $900 million in tariffs in its current June quarter, but that presupposed there would be no further tariffs.
Apple’s deteriorating relationship with Trump
Apple has not commented on either the tariffs or the New York Times report.
Whether or not the tariff was introduced solely as a punishment for Tim Cook, it is part of a significant change in Trump’s relationship with Apple. Cook has been both praised and criticized for how he has worked to keep that relationship going and gain Apple exemptions, including donating $1 million of his own money to Trump’s inauguration.
Recently, however, Cook also declined an invitation to attend a White House technology summit in person, although he did appear in video by satellite.
