President Trump: Apple CEO Cook Made 'Good Case' For Not Paying Tariffs

President Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met Friday and discussed how tariffs might put Apple at a disadvantage in its competition with Samsung.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been seeking to sway President Donald Trump against requiring Apple to pay additional tariffs, and may be making some progress, according to reports.

Cook reportedly met with Trump on Friday for dinner, and the two discussed topics including the forthcoming tariffs on China-made products such as the iPhone—as well as how those tariffs would put Apple at a disadvantage against competitor Samsung.

[Related: Apple Watch, AirPods Will Still Reportedly Face China Tariffs]

While the U.S. will not impose a 10 percent tariff on smartphones and laptops from China on Sept. 1 as previously planned, those tariffs have only been delayed until Dec. 15.

According to CNBC, Trump said that Cook made a "good case" against requiring new tariffs for Apple in light of the competition with Samsung, which mostly manufactures its products in its home country of South Korea.

“I thought he made a very compelling argument,” Trump said on Sunday, according to the report.

Giants of the American tech industry—including Apple, Microsoft, Dell Technologies, Intel and HP Inc.—have chastised the proposal for additional tariffs on devices, saying the move would raise prices and divert resources from R&D.

Final assembly of nearly all Apple products, including the iPhone, is carried out in China.

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

Apple did not immediately respond to CRN's request for comment Monday.

Several Apple products, including the Apple Watch and AirPods, will reportedly not be spared from the 10 percent tariff that takes effect Sept. 1.

Industry watchers expect Apple to debut three new iPhone models in September, following up on last year's launch of the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.