As Trump tariffs hit India, Apple boosts US investment by $100 billion

India Today

2 days ago

Apple said it will invest an additional USD 100 billion in the US over the next four years, expanding domestic manufacturing and supply chain operations after weeks of tension with President Donald Trump over the company's decision to shift iPhone production to India.Trump is expected to tout the announcement on Wednesday at the White House as a major win for American manufacturing. 'Today's announcement with Apple is another win for our manufacturing industry that will simultaneously help reshore the production of critical components to protect America's economic and national security," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.advertisementThe move boosts Apple's total US investment commitment to $600 billion, up from the $500 billion the company had previously pledged.
The announcement follows criticism from Trump, who earlier this year said there was 'a little problem' with Apple's decision to expand production in India. While in Qatar, the president recalled telling CEO Tim Cook directly: 'I don't want you building in India.'Apple's change of course comes on the same day Trump slapped a 25% additional tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. With the new import taxes taking effect in 21 days, total US tariffs on Indian exports could reach 50%.Though Apple didn't comment Wednesday, CEO Tim Cook recently signaled a deeper push into US manufacturing during an earnings call, saying: 'We're doing more in this country, and that's on top of having roughly 19 billion chips coming out of the US now, and we will do more.'The company's new pledge also includes a $500 million deal with MP Materials, the only rare earths producer in the US. That agreement will expand a Texas factory to make recycled magnets used in iPhones.'There's a load of different things done in the United States,' Cook added on the same call. He cited US-made iPhone components like the glass display and facial recognition modules as examples of the company's growing domestic footprint.Apple shares surged nearly 6 per cent on the news Wednesday. Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, which holds Apple stock, said the market's reaction shows relief that Cook 'is extending an olive branch' to the Trump administration.Even so, Apple's stock remains down 14 per cent this year, weighed down in part by its slow entry into artificial intelligence — a strategic miss that investors say the company is now trying to correct with a pivot back to its strengths in hardware and production.- EndsWith inputs from Associated PressMust Watch