After smartphones and computers earned an exemption from the US list of reciprocal tariffs, a senator is questioning Apple CEO Tim Cook’s “attempts to influence Trump Administration officials”.
In a letter penned to the tech leader, Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Cook to answer a series of questions, saying that his relationship with the Trump administration at best “creates the appearance of impropriety”.
Trump granted an exemption for smartphones, computers and other electronics on the 145% reciprocal tariff on goods shipped to the US from China earlier this month.
However, following that exemption, a report by the Washington Post examined the relationship between Cook and the Trump administration, where one analyst pointed out that the exemption list “just happens to be all the things Apple makes”.
The Trump administration said, following the exemption, that it is investigating a potential tariff on semiconductors, which would mean the smartphones’ tariff exemption could be temporary.
However, other electronics including cameras and videogame systems were not part of that exemption list – and remain under the 145% reciprocal tariff if they come from China and 10% from other regions, such as Japan.
While the smartphone exemption wasn't targeted to a specific company, trade officials previously approved a tariff exemption for the Apple Watch.
In a letter obtained by Bloomberg, Warren asks Cook to detail the nature of his discussions with Trump administration officials, including asking if the Apple CEO made any commitments for political support or campaign-related contributions.
“At best, your work to eliminate the tariffs on Apple products, and President Trump’s subsequent decision to exempt certain Apple products, creates the appearance of impropriety,” Warren writes.
“However, recent reporting also raises serious questions about the extent to which it is possible for massive corporate special interests to use their money and influence to secure tariff exemptions that are unavailable to Main Street small businesses.”
Warren, a Democrat representing Massachusetts in the Senate, had previously voiced concern that the administration’s “trade policy is becoming a corrupt scheme to enrich administration officials and those loyal to them.”
In the letter, Warren notes Apple stock’s recovery after the tariff exemption and Apple’s $1 million donation to the president’s inaugural committee.
During the inauguration, Cook – as well as several other tech leaders, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Tesla’s Elon Musk – sat in “some of the most exclusive seats” according to the Associated Press.
Cameras are notably not part of the tariff exemption, which has led to companies like Fujifilm pausing pre-orders for new or hard-to-find cameras and other companies raising prices.
Recent reports, however, indicate that the Trump administration may lower the tariff rate on goods imported from China. Tariffs from most other areas have been placed on a temporary pause that lowers the rate to 10%, a pause that did not include China.
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