Why Apple will find it difficult to shift iPhone production to the U.S.; here are the top reasons

Time of India

23-05-2025

After a declaration by POTUS
Trump
that a 25% tax will be levied on
iPhones
if I Phones are not US made. Tim Cook said most iPhones available to U.S. consumers this quarter will be made in India. Tim Cook, though, has already declared that I Phones available for US citizens this quarter will all be made in India.
An I Phone is $1,500 to $3,500 dollar a piece if made in US. However, the costs can come down to $1200 dollars if it's made in India.
Apple
has spent decades building its supply chain in China since the 1990s, switching to the U.S. would take years and cost billions, as per the report by Associated press.
Apple depends on a massive network of Chinese suppliers and factories that can't be easily replaced. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said making iPhones in the U.S. is a 'nonstarter', it could push prices up to over $3,000 and might not happen before 2028, as per reports.
Tim Cook said that in March, tariffs didn't cause big problems for Apple, but after June, it's hard to say what will happen. Because Apple relies so much on China and India, the trade war puts its products at risk of getting pricier.
Eventually, Apple might raise iPhone prices if tariffs start cutting into its profits too much. Apple makes a lot of money from services like iCloud and Apple Music, which aren't affected by tariffs, this gives them room to absorb some costs, says Dipanjan Chatterjee, Forrester Research. Apple earned $96 billion from services last fiscal year, which helps them handle tariff costs for now, he added, as mentioned in the report by Associated press.
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Apple earlier said that it plans to hire 20,000 people by 2028, and thus invest $500 billion dollars in the process. But reports suggest it won't be for iPhone production, but mostly for things like data centers in Houston. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed tariffs would force Apple to bring manufacturing to America, as per CBS News.
But Tim Cook doubted that idea, saying the U.S. doesn't have enough skilled workers to do detailed tasks like in China. Cook said that in China, there are so many skilled workers that they can fill football fields, but in the U.S., it's hard to even fill one meeting room. Trump already tried pushing Apple to make iPhones in the U.S. during his first term, but didn't succeed, instead, iPhones started being made in India and Vietnam, according to reports.
Back in 2019, Trump toured an Apple plant in Texas with Cook, where Macs not iPhones were being made, then he wrongly claimed he opened the plant. The Texas plant had actually been running since 2013, when Obama was president.
So, basically making iPhones in the U.S. is super expensive, needs special skills, takes years, and Apple is already super dependent on China and India.
FAQs
Q1. Why can't Apple make iPhones in the U.S.?
It's too expensive and the U.S. lacks enough skilled workers for the job.
Q2. Will iPhone prices go up if made in the U.S.?
Yes, the price could go up by thousands of dollars if production moves to the U.S.