WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week about the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on iPhone prices, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the phone call.
Trump last week granted tariff exclusions to smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China, offering some relief for tech firms such as Apple, HP and Dell.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro had wanted the taxes to remain in place, according to the Post.
Apple declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, while Dell and HP did not immediately respond.
White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Post that Apple or any other company had not been granted “any exemptions”, adding that the administration’s agenda will build on existing commitments by firms such as Apple, Nvidia and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to manufacture more in the U.S.
Consumer goods such as iPhones could be among the hardest hit by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, analysts said earlier this month.
Last week, the Trump administration announced, then paused, sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries, throwing the global economy into a state of uncertainty.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
