U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with CEOs from big names like Amazon and Apple in the early months of her tenure, which could be a point of critique for progressives, Bloomberg wrote.
The data came from a copy of her April 2021 calendar. Reports show that Raimondo requested an April 5 meeting with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and Apple’s Tim Cook sought a meeting on April 21.
The reports didn’t specify what had been discussed at these meetings. The Commerce Department does oversee important trade issues for U.S. business, with officials meeting with company executives often.
The Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment from PYMNTS.
Raimondo has also met with other various executives and officials like General Motors Co.’s Mary Barra, AT&T Inc.’s John Stankey, Verizon Communication Inc.’s Hans Vestberg, Visa Inc.’s Al Kelly, Walt Disney Co.’s Bob Chapek and Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Raimondo has seen pushback from left-leaning groups for acting as the Biden administration’s mouthpiece for big business, pushing for policies that advocate for corporate America. She caused controversy in 2021 as she opposed legislation in Europe that would have curbed the power of large U.S. tech companies.
But she’s voiced support for similar U.S. antitrust legislation since then and has taken stances that “the business community opposes,” according to Commerce Department spokesperson Robyn Patterson.
In other news related to antitrust cases, the Department of Justice has been preparing an antitrust complaint against Apple, which could see the investigation of the tech giant coming to a head, PYMNTS wrote.
Read more: Report: DOJ Preps Apple Antitrust Suit
The report said prosecutors could file a lawsuit by the end of the year if they end up deciding to sue.
The DOJ has been looking into Apple for three years, saying the company has used its market power to hold back other app developers and tech companies.
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