- Cook reportedly mentioned a $15 billion fine, to which Trump reacted by saying, “that’s a lot”
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Apple CEO Tim cook expressed concerns about the EU’s multi-billion dollar fines and regulatory action in a call with former US president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump in a recent call.
As reported by the BBC, Trump shared the comments on the PBD podcast released on Thursday, October 17th 2024.
The presidential candidate claimed that Cook called him to complain about EU fines, calling out a $15 billion fine, to which Trump responded “that’s a lot”.
Apple was recently ordered to pay Ireland €13 billion ($14bn) in unpaid taxes by the European Court of Justice following an eight-year court battle.
“Political” actions
The US presidential candidate added that Apple was hit with an additional $2 billion fine, bringing the total to $17-18 billion. This follows Apple and the Irish government losing a legal battle over unpaid taxes in September.
“Then on top of that, they got fined by the European Union another $2bn, so it’s a $17bn to $18bn fine,” said Trump.
Cook was also claimed to have labelled the European Commission’s actions as “political”. Trump said he would not allow the EU to “take advantage of our companies”.
Apple has expressed concerns that opening its services, like the App Store to third parties, as required by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), could negatively impact users.
However, the EU has warned the iPhone maker that it must open up its iOS ecosystem to other devices in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act or face penalties.
