Tim Cook gifted President Donald Trump an American-made glass engraving at the White House today — but it was the Apple CEO who walked away with the real prize.
On Wednesday, Cook presented Trump with an inscribed piece of Apple-produced glass made in Kentucky that sits upon a 24k gold base made in Utah to celebrate the tech giant’s “American Manufacturing Program.”
“This glass comes off the Corning line, engraved for President Trump,” Cook told reporters during a ceremony in the Oval Office. “It is a unique unit of one.
Cook and Apple aren’t walking away empty-handed. Companies that “are building in the United States,” like Apple, won’t be subject to a forthcoming 100% tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips, Trump said.
“The good news for companies like Apple is if you’re building in the United States or have committed to build, without question, in the United States, there will be no charge,” Trump said.
Cook said the gift was designed by a former US Marine Corps. Corporal who now works for Apple. Cook’s signature is also etched into the gift.
Apple announced that it is adding an additional $100 billion to its existing pledge to spend $500 billion in the US over the next four years. As part of its investment, Cook said that soon, 100% of all cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches will be manufactured in the US.
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It is still a far cry from Trump’s hope of a made-in-the-USA iPhone. When a reporter pressed Cook on the possibility of an American-made iPhone, Trump echoed Cook’s view that Apple already makes many of the popular smartphone’s components in the US.
“We’ve been talking about it, and the whole thing is set up in other places, and it’s been there for a long time, so in terms of the cost and all,” Trump said. “But I think we may incentivize him enough that one day he’ll be bringing that.”
Apple might still need more. It remains unclear if the tech giant will be subject to Trump’s stiffer tariffs on India, which are aimed at punishing the nation for continuing to buy Russian oil.
Cook has come bearing gifts before. In Trump’s final financial disclosure before leaving the White House in 2021, the president reported receiving a $5,999 MacBook Pro computer.
It’s also not the first time Cook’s savvy relationship-building skills have earned the president’s praise. In 2019, Trump said Cook was the only tech executive who calls him directly, and the Apple CEO successfully landed carve-outs for some of Apple’s products during the tariffs implemented during Trump’s first term.
