Tim Cook's Talks With Commerce Secretary Lutnick Helped Apple Secure Tariff Exemption For iPhones: Report

In a recent dialogue with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook reportedly discussed the potential ramifications of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on iPhone prices.

What Happened: Cook held a discussion last week with the Commerce Secretary about the possible impact of the tariffs on iPhone prices. Cook also engaged in talks with other senior White House officials, according to a report by The Washington Post. As a result of this conversation, the Trump administration has agreed to exempt Apple’s China-produced electronic products from import duties.

Despite the widespread criticism of President Donald Trump‘s trade policies by numerous executives, Cook chose not to do so. By the end of the week, the Trump administration decided to exempt import duties on electronic products that Apple manufactures in China. This decision also benefited other major U.S. firms like HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL).

Notably, the exemption was approved even though senior White House aide Peter Navarro had recommended keeping the taxes in place.

Wilbur Ross, former commerce secretary during Trump's first term, told the publication, “Tim has a very good relationship with the president and rightly so. He has been playing a very careful role in that he obviously has a huge dependency on China but is also hugely important to the U.S.”

SEE ALSO: A Small Business Owner Asks, ‘What’s Your Plan,’ Now That A $20 Product From China Costs $50 Before It Even Hits The Warehouse?

Why It Matters: Apple shares climbed over 2% on Monday after Trump exempted tariffs on electronics on Friday and pushed the company's market cap back more than $3 trillion. After the exemption, Trump stated, "I helped Tim Cook, recently, and that whole business,” reported CNBC.

The Apple CEO also invested $500 billion in the U.S. in March for an AI push, boosting U.S. manufacturing tech after a discussion with President Trump.

Prior to this development, Apple had been preparing for the potential impact of tariffs on its supply chain. Top analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had warned that Apple’s supply chain could face significant disruptions due to the tariffs.

Interestingly, Cook had previously clarified that Apple’s decision to manufacture its products in China was not due to low labor costs. In a 2024 video, Cook stated, “China stopped being a low labor cost company many years ago.” This tariff exemption will allow Apple to continue its manufacturing operations in China without the added cost of import duties.

According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Apple is unfavorable in the short, medium, and long term, but how does it compare with other tech stocks? Check out Benzinga Edge Stock rankings today to learn more.

Over the past month, Apple stock declined by over 7.4%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.