Citadel’s Griffin says Apple should not be exempted from tariffs only because it’s ‘connected’
Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin said on Thursday that megacap technology name Apple shouldn’t receive any exemption from President Donald Trump’s tariffs . In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen, the billionaire said that the iPhone maker should “100% not” be waived from the duties related to importing its devices, a majority of which have historically been manufactured overseas in China. The company has also been increasing production of its products in other countries like India and Vietnam. Griffin continued, “We’re just going to continue to favor big and connected businesses in America?” The CEO then went on to describe the Trump administration making deals with large corporations as anti-American, saying that ” that’s not the American story .” His comments come after Apple CEO Tim Cook in August committed to spending an additional $100 billion on U.S. companies and suppliers over the next four years, bringing its total investment to $600 billion. Cook also presented Trump with a custom Apple plaque with a gold base. Because of the company’s commitment to support U.S. manufacturing, Trump said it was exempt from a planned 100% tariff on semiconductors. The move continues the trend seen in Trump’s first administration, during which Apple was spared from having to pay for tariffs on its core products following the president’s trade deal agreement with China at that time. “When the state becomes involved in picking winners and losers, there’s only one way this game ends: All of us lose,” said Griffin. “The line outside the White House of every business arguing why they should be exempt from paying tariffs on what they import into their products is nauseating.” AAPL YTD mountain AAPL, year-to-date Earlier this week, Apple shares turned positive on the year , being the last of the megacap tech names to do so. Its year-to-date gain currently sits at more than 1%. Shares have also risen more than 25% in the last three months, outpacing the broader market. The shares traded off their highs of Thursday’s session amid Griffin’s comments.
