Donald Trump wants Europe to stop hurting American companies. The former president and current Democratic Party candidate has shown his support for Apple and other companies that have been fined by the European Union. Trump promised Tim Cook that he would not let the EU take advantage of Apple.
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Speaking on Patrick Bet-David’s (PDB) podcast, Donald Trump talked about his economic proposals and the future of American business. One important issue is his relationship with Tim Cook, who he says has called him personally several times to discuss tax and competition matters.
Before recording the podcast, Donald Trump mentioned that Tim Cook had called him to express his frustration about the fines from the European Union.
“Two or three hours ago, [Tim Cook] called me,” Trump said. “He said, ‘The European Union just fined us $15 billion,’ and I replied, ‘That’s a lot.’ On top of that, the EU fined them another $2 billion, so that’s a total of $17 or $18 billion […] That’s a lot of money.”
According to Trump, Tim Cook said that the European Union is using that money to fund his “company,” suggesting that Europe is benefiting from it. The former president promised to help him, but first, he needs to win the November elections. “I’m not going to let our companies be taken advantage of. That’s not going to happen,” Donald Trump said.
Donald Trump does not want more European fines against Apple and other companies.
One key aspect of his policy is protectionism toward American businesses. A clear example of this is the trade war against China, which he accused of giving subsidies to Huawei and other companies to gain an edge in technology. Trump aims to apply the same approach to the automotive industry and has announced that he will stop the construction of car factories in Mexico.
Regarding Europe’s actions against Big Tech, Trump said he understands what it feels like to face million-dollar fines. “I know that feeling; I’ve been fined in false cases. I don’t know if this case [Apple] is false, but it’s a lot of money,” he remarked.
The EU sanctions Trump is talking about include a €13 billion fine for unpaid taxes to Ireland. The European Commission found that Apple received illegal assistance from Ireland to avoid paying taxes for 11 years, so it must pay that money to the country. Additionally, there is a €1.84 billion fine for negatively impacting music services like Spotify.
Donald Trump forgot to mention that Apple and other U.S. companies are subject to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes higher fines if they do not follow its guidelines. A few weeks ago, the European Commission warned Apple that it must comply with the DMA or face a fine of up to €34 billion.
It’s hard to imagine that Trump would initiate a battle against the EU based solely on complaints from Apple and other companies, but anything is possible.
