Donald Trump Says Apple CEO Called Him About EU’s Multi-Billion Dollar Fine Against Company

Republican nominee Donald Trump said Wednesday that Apple CEO Tim Cook called him to discuss a multi-billion-dollar fine imposed by the European Union’s (EU) top court.

The European Court of Justice (EJC) ruled in September that Apple must pay $14.35 billion for allegedly receiving illegal tax benefits from Ireland, according to The Washington Post. Trump said during an appearance on the PBD podcast that Cook called him regarding the matter.

“And Tim Cook called me up directly, and he did it himself, didn’t have to pay $0.10 cents, and I gave him 100% of what he wanted because he was right,” Trump said. “I mean, you can’t compete with Samsung, and one’s paying a tax. But I said you got to gradually move your company here. But then two hours ago, three hours ago, he called me. He said, ‘I’d like to talk to you about something you want.’ He said, ‘The European Union has just fined us $15 billion.’ I said, ‘That’s a lot.’ I know the feeling because I get fined too in fake cases, but I don’t know if his case is fake yet, but it’s a lot. Then, on top of that, they got fined by the European Union another $2 billion. So it’s a $17 to $18 billion fine.”

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Trump said that the Apple CEO believes the EU is using that money “to run their enterprise” in Europe. The former president also said he will not allow the EU to “take advantage” of American-owned companies if he is reelected president.

“I said, ‘But Tim, I got to get elected first,’” Trump continued. “But I’m not gonna let them take advantage of our companies, that won’t be happening.”

The EJC upheld a 2016 decision by the European Commission, which found that Apple was granted unlawful state aid by Ireland that amounts to about €13 billion, according to CNN. The Commission said that Apple had benefited from two Irish tax rulings for more than two decades, which reduced its tax burden to as low as 0.005% in 2014.

The EU’s lower-level court upheld the ruling in 2020 after Apple challenged it, saying the Big Tech company had enjoyed an unfair advantage, according to CNN.