Apple announces $100 billion US manufacturing plan after pressure from Donald Trump
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, 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.
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.
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