Apple CEO meets with Trump on trade

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO

Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, met Wednesday with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Trade was supposed to be the largest topic of discussion at the meeting, especially recent orders signed by Trump levying tariffs on various items and materials.

“We will be talking about many things, including how the U.S. has been treated unfairly for many years, by many countries, on trade,” Trump said on Twitter ahead of the sit-down.

Tensions continue to rise between the United States and China, with many investors worried that an all-out trade war could be sparked between the world’s two largest economies.

A trade war would be especially perilous for Apple, which manufactures its iconic iPhone in China and is attempting to build a larger market share in the country for its products.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump criticized Apple for not building iPhones and iPads in the U.S., but his tone has softened considerably in recent months.

Apple, along with other major technology stocks Alphabet and Facebook, was up slightly at the close of markets Wednesday after shares dipped considerably the day before, a situation that was shared with many other tech and industrial stocks.

Twitter did not fare as well, however, with shares sinking 2.4 percent to close at $29.75.

The social network platform revealed its quarterly earnings earlier in the day. Twitter estimated that its revenue growth would slow over the rest of 2018. It also pointed to increased costs due to an expanded fight against hate speech and misinformation on its platform. The company told investors it would increase its total staff between 10 and 15 percent to handle these issues.

“This holistic approach will help us more effectively address these challenges by viewing them through the broader lens of the health of the public conversation, and we’re encouraged by our initial progress in this area,” CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement.