Trump tweet: Apple could pay zero tax if it builds in US, not China

Tim
Cook talks to Donald Trump at a tech roundtable last
year.
Getty

• President Donald Trump said Apple should move production of
  its products to the US from China because the company could pay
  “ZERO tax” in America.
• The tweet comes after Apple warned that Trump’s pending
  tariffs on Chinese goods would drive up the cost of some of its
  products.
• It is not immediately clear how Apple could pay no tax if
  it moved its manufacturing process to the US.

President Donald Trump suggested that Apple could face no taxes
if the company moves its manufacturing process to the US from
China.

“Apple prices may increase because of the massive Tariffs
we may be imposing on China – but there is an easy solution where
there would be ZERO tax, and indeed a tax incentive,” Trump
tweeted Saturday. “Make your products in the United States
instead of China. Start building new plants now. Exciting!
#MAGA.”

The tweet appears to be in response to
a letter sent by Apple to the US Trade Representative on
Friday. The company warned that many Apple products could
increase in price if Trump implements a proposed
round of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

“Second, because all tariffs ultimately show up as a tax on
U.S. consumers, they will increase the cost of Apple products
that our customers have come to rely on in their daily lives,”
the company said in the letter.

Trump first threatened to impose the round of tariffs in
July, and the move would be a drastic escalation of the trade war
between the US and China.
US companies have warned that the tariffs, which would cover
a
huge range of industrial and consumer goods, would cause
costs to increase. In turn, those companies could be forced to

raise prices or lay off workers to control costs.

Trump told reporters on Friday that the tariffs would “take
place very soon.”

Trump has long encouraged Apple to being the entirety of its
production to the US, though many analysts believe that
the cost to do so would be enormous. This is the first time,
however, that Trump has suggested a considerable tax break for
the company if their manufacturing is brought back
onshore.

Apple also has a
long history of working to lower its tax bill and the company
is already
reaping huge benefits from the recently-implemented GOP tax
law.

While eliminating Apple’s taxes in the US would be an
attractive offer, it is unlikely that Trump could zero out
Apple’s taxes without congressional approval, which would be
nearly impossible to get.