Senator Warren sends Tim Cook a letter
It’s no secret that Apple and other big tech companies have been making moves to earn President Trump’s favor, but Senator Warren wants details on these interactions to determine if lines were crossed.
President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have been a rollercoaster for the economy. After failing to get the desired results and markets dived, Trump backed off his initial tariffs and redoubled efforts against China while providing exemptions that unilaterally helped Apple.
It seems, these exemptions were provided, at least in part, due to Apple CEO Tim Cook calling President Trump — which was confirmed. That, along with donations, in-person dinners and events, and more, has led Senator Warren to write a letter, obtained by Bloomberg.
Warren lists Cook’s dealings with Trump and suggests they create “the appearance of impropriety.” She asks for Cook to respond with information about “your attempts to influence Trump Administration officials.”
Apple and Cook are not obligated to provide any information on these communications. The letter itself appears to be more of a formality than anything, as Senator Warren and others making accusations of corruption would need to open an official investigation to find it.
The letter on its own does nothing except bring light to the actions of big tech to win favor with the Trump administration.
The letter doesn’t address that Cook and others are playing by a playbook set by the administration, but does point out the dealings with tariffs and exemptions that were made in the first term. Companies that aren’t attempting to win favor are being punished more, which Warren does point out, as smaller businesses can’t make the same deals as mega-corps.
The letter also fails to mention that even as Apple is exempted for now, the grace period is temporary. President Trump says semiconductor tariffs were on the way. So, soon Apple may be hit with the full force of tariffs on China and its Apple Silicon chips.
