Mubasher: Apple’s CEO Tim Cook expressed his concerns to US President Donald Trump regarding the competitive advantage that the iPhone maker’s rival Samsung would have in the light of the new announced tariffs, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier this month, President Trump decided to implement a 10% tariff on a $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, starting from next month, but last week, plans to implement levies were postponed on around half of Chinese imports to 15 December, citing the likely impact on US businesses and consumers.

The majority of Apple’s products are set to be hit with the 10% duty in the coming weeks or months. While tariffs on iPhones, iPads and Apple-made laptops have been delayed, levies on Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories are still to take effect on 1 September.

Cook made a “good case” about the difficulty to compete with Samsung if Apple products are tariffed, Trump said.

It is worth noting that Apple manufacture most of its devices in China, before importing them to the US and other countries.

At the other end of the spectrum, Samsung make its products across several countries, including Vietnam and China, which would made the South Korean tech giant less impacted by US tariffs than Apple.

“It’s tough for Apple to pay tariffs if it’s competing with a very good company that’s not,” Trump said.