United States President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that Apple Inc. has been "treated very badly" by the European Union, referring to the lawsuit over its tax link with Ireland that the company lost.
Speaking alongside Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Trump insisted the tech giant had "tremendously bad luck" and that the EU is "after American companies, but insisted he is not criticizing Ireland, but the bloc in general. "I didn't think it was a good lawsuit," he concluded.
In 2024, the European Union's Court of Justice ordered Apple to pay €13 billion plus interest in unpaid Irish taxes after finding it received an unlawful subsidy in Irland, confirming the European Commission's decision from 2016. Trump's comments come after Apple CEO Tim Cook contributed $1 million to his inaugural committee and after the company pledged to invest $500 billion in the US over the next four years.
