Apple is putting another $100 billion toward expanding manufacturing in the US as the company responds to pressure from President Donald Trump to manufacture more of its products in the US. The move builds upon the company’s initial plan to invest $500 billion in the US over the next four years, and includes a new American Manufacturing Program that the company says will bring more of Apple’s “supply chain and advanced manufacturing” to the US.
As part of its investment, Apple has agreed to an expanded partnership with Corning to manufacture “100 percent” of the iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in Kentucky. It will also work with Samsung at its chip fab in Austin, Texas, “to launch an innovative new technology for making chips, which has never been used before anywhere in the world,” according to Apple’s press release.
Apple’s Houston-based server factory, which it announced earlier this year, will begin mass production starting in 2026, while Apple is also expanding its data center in Maiden, North Carolina. Last month, Apple announced that it will open a manufacturing academy in Michigan to help train American companies in “advanced manufacturing” techniques as well.
It’s not clear whether Apple’s new promises will satiate Trump, who believes Apple can make its iPhones in the US. Apple has shifted some of its manufacturing out of China and into Vietnam and India in recent years in an attempt to avoid tariffs and supply chain disruptions. Trump has criticized Apple for not bringing the work back to the US instead, and threatened the company with a 25 percent tariff if it doesn’t manufacture more products domestically.
During Trump’s first term, Apple CEO Tim Cook similarly tried to curry favor with the administration by holding private dinners and even lobbying the US trade representative for lighter tariffs. The company even announced plans to manufacture its 2019 Mac Pro in Texas after Trump granted Apple a tariff exemption. At the time, reports suggested that Apple planned to manufacture its Mac Pro in China after the US production of its 2013 model was hobbled by a screw shortage.
“I’m proud to say that Apple is leading the creation of an end-to-end silicon supply chain right here in America, from design to equipment to wafer production to fabrication to packaging,” Cook said during a press briefing. “We’re going to keep working with our suppliers to move even more of this incredibly advanced work to America.”
Apple revealed last week that Trump’s tariffs could add another $1.1 billion to its costs during the September quarter, adding to the $800 million it has already spent on the levies. Trump has also introduced new “reciprocal” tariffs that affect products imported from a wide range of countries, including Vietnam, which manufactures Macs, iPads, and Watches. On Wednesday, Trump said he would raise tariffs on India by 25 percent, where Cook said the “majority” of iPhones destined for the US are made.
Update, August 6th: Added a statement from Cook.
Author: Emma Roth
Source: TheVerge
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
