Saturday, November 23, 2019

Access to Power (Trump) is Important for Corporations in the Era of Trump

President Trump with Apple CEO Steve Cook

If you can afford lobbyists that are close to President Trump, or you are large enough to gain direct access to the president, you can get yourself an exemption to Trump's tariffs while your smaller competitors can't.

The New York Times explains:
President Trump said on Wednesday that China had not yet made enough concessions to secure a trade deal with the United States and suggested that he might exempt Apple from an upcoming round of tariffs as he toured a Texas plant that assembles Mac Pro computers.

Mr. Trump, who was joined in Austin by Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, repeated his assertion that China was more eager to reach a trade deal than he was and suggested the two sides still remained far apart. “I don’t think they’re stepping up to the level that I want,” he told reporters.

When asked if Apple should receive tariff exemptions, Mr. Trump said, “We’ll look into that.”...

Mr. Trump’s comments about excluding Apple from the levies could further fuel criticism that he is playing favorites and picking winners and losers.

The heads of smaller technology companies have grumbled that prominent businesses like Apple have been more able to catch the attention of the White House, and that they appear to be receiving more exclusions than other companies.
"If you don't think political support for Trump is crucial for getting tariff relief, I have a degree from Trump University you might want to buy." -Paul Krugman



-RW



3 comments:

  1. I must have missed the critical NYT story about Obama granting favors to the solar industry or his regulatory support of public universities while crushing private for profit universities. Sadly, there is nothing new in this story.

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  2. As a Trump voter, I find this unfortunate. However, it's good that Trump is kicking the Chinese communist in the nuts though I know libertardians always cheer for less American jobs and more mass immigration destroying the country. The tariffs are having an affect on China or else they would not be crying like bitches. It's pretty clear they only want terms one way.

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  3. What a stupid article.

    "Newsflash! Lobbying political authorities produces benefits for corporations."

    Might as well make headline: "American-style free-market capitalism, alive and well."

    Waste of bloody time.

    ReplyDelete