Tim Cook is currently in France, where he making a variety of visits — including meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.
Cook will meet with President Macron, who assumed power in this year’s May election, later today. He has also made a number of stops, including meeting with one of Apple’s suppliers and paying his respects at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which honors American troops who died in Europe during World War II.
Ahead of his meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Tim Cook visited Eldim, a company in the Normandy town of Caen, which produces optical recognition components for the iPhone X. The company has worked with Apple for the majority of the past decade. Eldim CEO Thierry Leroux told local reporters that working with Apple is, “an incredible adventure,” but also the source of various technical challenges. Tim Cook responded that, “It’s great what you have done for us.”
Cook also visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, and tweeted about the importance of remembering those who had made the “ultimate sacrifice” during World War II.
Meeting Macron
Apple’s CEO is scheduled to meet President Macron at 4.15pm local time (8.15am PST) later today. It is likely that they will discuss Apple’s battles with the E.U. over tax avoidance. The European Union handed Apple the massive tax bill in August last year, claiming the company took advantage of illegal state aid that allowed it to route profits through Ireland.
The investigation alleged that Apple paid the equivalent of as little as 0.005 percent on all European profits in 2014. Macron has been outspoken about wanting to develop a new taxation scheme that makes it tougher for tax giants to avoid taxes through complex shell company structures.
Via: VentureBeat
