Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook visited the White House on Wednesday, presenting President Donald Trump with a one-of-a-kind commemorative plaque fashioned from Corning Gorilla Glass and mounted on a 24-karat gold base sourced in Utah. The disc, engraved with Trump’s name, the Apple logo and the words “Made in USA,” was designed by a former U.S. Marine now employed by the company. During the Oval Office appearance Cook said Apple will raise its planned U.S. investment by $100 billion, bringing the total to $600 billion over the next four years. The additional spending will expand domestic production of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass and support new facilities such as the AI-server plant the company recently opened in Houston. Trump, who has pressed multinational manufacturers to expand in the United States, signaled that companies building domestically would be exempt from a forthcoming 100% tariff on imported semiconductors. Although he did not mention Apple by name, the pledge positions the iPhone maker to avoid duties that have weighed on its supply chain while it ramps up U.S. manufacturing.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is using a familiar strategy to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces: expanding existing initiatives to show he supports the president’s “Made in the USA” agenda. https://t.co/JxF1jg00EK
Tim Cook is using a familiar strategy to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces: expanding existing initiatives to show he supports the president’s “Made in the USA” agenda. He also seized on his love for gold. In return, Cook gets some tariff relief. https://t.co/qnwJQxTqri
Apple CEO Tim Cook gifts President Trump a piece of glass with 24k gold 🚨 This comes after promising an additional $100 billion on top of the $500 billion in U.S. investment https://t.co/0XKm84eCfD