Latest news with #AmericanManufacturingProgramme
The Star
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Apple expands iPhone glass deal to avoid tariffs
WASHINGTON: Apple Inc chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook is using a familiar strategy to stay in Donald Trump's good graces: expanding existing initiatives to show he supports the president's 'Made in the USA' agenda. Standing in the Oval Office on Wednesday between Trump and vice-president JD Vance, Cook announced that Apple would increase its US investment commitment to US$600bil over four years – up from the US$500bil pledged after Trump's second-term victory. A centrepiece of the expansion is a US$2.5bil investment into Corning Inc, Apple's longtime glass supplier. For the first time, the cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches will be manufactured in the United States, at Corning's facility in Kentucky. Though Apple has touted the US roots of iPhone glass before, a portion of that glass was previously made overseas. 'Apple's been an investor in other countries a little bit. I won't say which ones, but a couple. And they're coming home,' Trump said when making the announcement. The US$600bil investment, he said, is 'the biggest there is.' The iPhone maker also discussed increased agreements focused on semiconductor manufacturing, expanding deals with partners like Samsung Electronics Co, Texas Instruments Inc and Broadcom Inc. Apple is branding the effort the American Manufacturing Programme, or AMP. In all, the announcements provided just enough evidence that Apple was focusing on America – without forcing it to make major changes. Corning has supplied Apple since the first iPhone in 2007, and Cook has long promoted the iPhone's American-made glass. What's new is the modestly increased scale. Apple is pointing to the deals as it seeks relief from looming tariffs. The Trump administration is letting exemptions on smartphone and gadget levies expire and adopting new duties on Indian imports – a potential issue for Apple, which recently shifted US-bound iPhone assembly to India. Cook even seized on Trump's famous love of gold. He presented the president with a large, circular Corning glass plaque engraved with the president's name, mounted in 24-karat gold. The Apple CEO said that the glass came off an assembly line in Kentucky while the gold was produced in Utah. Cook added that a former US Marine who works at Apple designed the plaque. Trump announced a major enticement – companies investing in the United States – even if the projects are in early stages, would get a break from some tariffs. 'The good news for companies like Apple is, if you're building in the United States, or have committed to build,' Trump said, 'there will be no charge.' Apple's pledges are expected to meet that criteria, even if it isn't actually making iPhones and other popular devices in the United States. Assembly of the smartphone – a costly and complex process of combining components, testing and boxing devices – will continue in China and, increasingly, India. That part will stay 'elsewhere for a while,' Cook said. But 'there's a lot of content in there from the United States, and we're very proud of it.' Trump acknowledged that assembly was 'set up in other places, and it's been there for a long time,' but he reiterated his desire to bring that stage of production to the United States someday. 'This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States also are made in America,' he said. Trump's existing tariffs have already taken a toll on Apple. It said last week that the levies would cost the company about US$1.1bil in the September quarter. But Apple is looking to avoid incurring further costs, especially as it prepares to unveil the iPhone 17 line next month. Cook is also likely seeking support from Trump on other fronts: The US Justice Department is suing the company for alleged antitrust violations, and the agency is threatening its US$20bil search deal with Alphabet Inc's Google in a separate case. The US government also could potentially help Apple cope with tough new restrictions on the App Store in the European Union. This isn't the first time Apple has used US manufacturing announcements to promote Trump's priorities. In 2019, the company promised to assemble a new Mac Pro in Texas. It wasn't a big change: Apple had produced the previous model in the state since 2013. But that gesture helped land the company a reprieve from tariffs. Earlier this year, after Trump's return to office, Cook unveiled the initial US$500bil commitment – an acceleration of the investments Apple had begun under President Joe Biden. At that time, Apple announced it would start making artificial intelligence servers in Houston. — Bloomberg
Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
As Apple pledges $100 bn additional investment in US, likely impact on India
Apple has announced a fresh commitment to invest $100 billion in the United States, with a particular focus on deepening its manufacturing base in the country. Earlier this year, Apple said it would spend $500 billion in US investments in the next four years, which would include a factory in Texas for artificial intelligence servers, and add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country in that time. The fresh pledge takes Apple's total committed investments in the US to $600 billion over the next four years. What is new about the fresh $100 billion commitment is that Apple is also pledging to relocate some of its manufacturing to the US, through what it's calling the American Manufacturing Programme (AMP). India has become a major base for Apple's final assembly operations, and one of the key markets from where it exports iPhones to the United States — the country exports nearly 1 in 3 iPhones to the US. If Apple chooses to go deeper on manufacturing in the US, New Delhi could feel some of its effects. The concern is compounded by some of US President Donald Trump's earlier statements targeting Apple's production in India and elsewhere. These events come as Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on imports from India, citing the country's economic ties with Russia. Apple said it was working with its suppliers to accelerate manufacturing in the US through the new American Manufacturing Programme (AMP). The first AMP partners include Corning, Coherent, GlobalWafers America, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Amkor, and Broadcom. 'The American Manufacturing Program will help fund a major expansion of Apple's long-standing partnership with Corning, bringing the world's largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line to a factory in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The expansion means that soon, every iPhone and Apple Watch sold around the world will be built with Kentucky-made cover glass. The two companies will also open a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center in Kentucky,' Apple said in a statement. In July, Apple had committed to buying American-made rare earth magnets from MP Materials. These magnets will become part of Apple devices shipped around the world. The two companies will also establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line in California. Apple supports more than 450,000 jobs with thousands of suppliers and partners across all 50 US states — including significant expansions in Arizona, California, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. Likely impact on India Apple's manufacturing push in the US seems to focus on creating a more high-end supplier base in the country. Its current production operations in India are centred largely around assembly of the final product, with a majority of the components coming from places like China and Taiwan. However, India has plans of deepening its supply base, and looking to attract more suppliers to the country. That could possibly be impacted by Apple's move in the short term. The Indian Express had earlier reported that India's share in US smartphone imports surged to nearly 36 per cent in the first five months of 2025, from about 11 per cent in 2024. China, which continues to dominate the product category, saw its share drop from 82 per cent to 49 per cent over the same period. While smartphones are India's top export to the US by value, Trump has threatened a 25 per cent tariff on Indian-made Apple iPhones, which account for the bulk of mobile phone exports to the country. Days after he announced reciprocal tariffs on a number of countries in April, the US administration had exempted phones, computers and other electronic products, even as the threat of a renewed tariff threat on these items looms large. Soumyarendra Barik is Special Correspondent with The Indian Express and reports on the intersection of technology, policy and society. With over five years of newsroom experience, he has reported on issues of gig workers' rights, privacy, India's prevalent digital divide and a range of other policy interventions that impact big tech companies. He once also tailed a food delivery worker for over 12 hours to quantify the amount of money they make, and the pain they go through while doing so. In his free time, he likes to nerd about watches, Formula 1 and football. ... Read More
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Trump says he plans to put 100pc tariff on computer chips, as Apple confirms $100bn investment in US manufacturing
The Republican president said that companies who make computer chips in the US would be spared the import tax. 'We'll be putting a tariff on of approximately 100pc on chips and semiconductors,' Mr Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting Apple chief executive Tim Cook. 'But if you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge.' During the Covid-19 pandemic, a shortage of computer chips increased the price of cars and contributed to an uptick in overall inflation. Mr Trump's announcement came as Mr Cook joined him at the White House to announce a commitment by the tech company to increase its investment in US manufacturing by an additional 100 billion dollars (£74.9 billion) over the next four years. 'This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,' Mr Trump said at the press conference. 'Today's announcement is one of the largest commitments in what has become among the greatest investment booms in our nation's history.' As part of the Apple announcement, the investments will be about bringing more of its supply chain and advanced manufacturing to the US as part of an initiative called the American Manufacturing Programme, but it is not a full commitment to build its popular iPhone device domestically. 'This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components — semiconductor chips included — that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we're grateful to the president for his support,' Mr Cook said in a statement announcing the investment. The new manufacturing partners include Corning, Coherent, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments and Broadcom among others. Apple had previously said it intended to invest 500 billion dollars (£374 billion) domestically, a figure it will now increase to 600 billion dollars (£449 billion). Mr Trump in recent months has criticised the tech company and Mr Cook for efforts to shift iPhone production to India to avoid the tariffs his Republican administration had planned for China. While in Qatar earlier this year, Mr Trump said there was 'a little problem' with the Cupertino, California, company and recalled a conversation with Mr Cook in which he said he told the businessman 'I don't want you building in India'. India has incurred Mr Trump's wrath, as the president signed an order on Wednesday to put an additional 25pc tariff on the world's most populous country for its use of Russian oil. The new import taxes to be imposed in 21 days could put the combined tariffs on Indian goods at 50pc. Apple's new pledge comes just a few weeks after it forged a 500 million-dollar deal with MP Materials, which runs the only rare earths producer in the country. That agreement will enable MP Materials to expand a factory in Texas to use recycled materials to produce magnets that make iPhones vibrate. Speaking on a recent investors call, Mr Cook emphasised that 'there's a load of different things done in the United States'. As examples, he cited some of the iPhone components made in the US such as the device's glass display and module for identifying people's faces and then indicated the company was gearing to expand its productions of other components in its home country. '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,' Mr Cook told analysts last week, without elaborating. News of Apple's latest investment in the US caused the company's stock price to surge by nearly 6pc in Wednesday's midday trading. That gains reflect investors' relief that Mr Cook 'is extending an olive branch' to the Trump administration, said Nancy Tengler, chief executive of money manager Laffer Tengler Investments, which owns Apple stock. Despite Wednesday's upturn, Apple's shares are still down by 14pc this year, a reversal of fortune that has also been driven by the company's botched start in the pivotal field of artificial intelligence.
Barnama
a day ago
- Business
- Barnama
Apple Announces ‘American Manufacturing Program', Adds US$100 Billion Investment
Apple CEO Tim Cook stands, as he along with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) present Apple's announcement of a $100 billion investment in US manufacturing, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst ISTANBUL, Aug 7 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- US tech giant Apple on Wednesday announced an additional US$100 billion investment in domestic production, bringing its total planned investment in the country to US$600 billion over the next four years, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. The package includes a US$2.5 billion commitment to produce all cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch at Corning's manufacturing facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Apple said in a statement. 'For the first time ever, every single new iPhone and every single new Apple Watch sold anywhere in the world will contain cover glass made in Kentucky,' said Apple CEO Tim Cook at the White House. bootstrap slideshow Cook noted that Apple had already committed US$500 billion earlier this year to strengthen US manufacturing and that the investment was delivering results. 'We broke ground on a new factory in Houston to make advanced AI servers. Last month, the very first test unit rolled off that factory's line, proudly made in America,' he said. As part of the new commitment, Apple is launching the American Manufacturing Programme, which Cook said will increase production of critical components in the US. The company has signed new agreements with 10 American firms. Apple is also working to build a full silicon supply chain within the US, from design to packaging, in partnership with various companies. Cook highlighted Apple's role in bringing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to Arizona, where it now produces tens of millions of chips for Apple.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Trump announces Apple to invest another $100 billion in U.S. manufacturing
Apple CEO Tim Cook joined U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) to announce a commitment by the tech company to increase its investment in US manufacturing by an additional $100 billion over the next four years. "This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America," Mr. Trump said at the press conference. "Today's announcement is one of the largest commitments in what has become among the greatest investment booms in our nation's history." As part of the Apple announcement, the investments will be about bringing more of its supply chain and advanced manufacturing to the United States as part of an initiative called the American Manufacturing Programme, but it is not a full commitment to build its popular iPhone device domestically. "This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components — semiconductor chips included — that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we're grateful to the President for his support," Cook said in a statement announcing the investment. The new manufacturing partners include Corning, Coherent, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments and Broadcom among others. Apple had previously said it intended to invest $500 billion domestically, a figure it will now increase to $600 billion. Mr. Trump in recent months criticised the tech company and Mr. Cook for efforts to shift iPhone production to India to avoid the tariffs his Republican administration had planned for China. While in Qatar earlier this year, Mr. Trump said there was "a little problem" with the Cupertino, California, company and recalled a conversation with Mr. Cook in which he said he told the CEO, "I do not want you building in India." Targetting India India has incurred Trump's wrath, as the president signed an order on Wednesday to put an additional 25% tariff on the world's most populous country for its use of Russian oil. The new import taxes to be imposed in 21 days could put the combined tariffs on Indian goods at 50%. Apple's new pledge comes just a few weeks after it forged a $500 million deal with MP Materials, which runs the only rare earths producer in the country. That agreement will enable MP Materials to expand a factory in Texas to use recycled materials to produce magnets that make iPhones vibrate. Speaking on a recent investors call, Mr. Cook emphasised that "there is a load of different things done in the United States". As examples, he cited some of the iPhone components made in the U.S. such as the device's glass display and module for identifying people's faces and then indicated the company was gearing to expand its production of other components in its home country. "We are doing more in this country, and that is on top of having roughly 19 billion chips coming out of the U.S. now, and we will do more," Cook told analysts last week, without elaborating. News of Apple's latest investment in the US caused the company's stock price to surge by 5 per cent in Wednesday's midday trading. That gain reflects investors' relief that Cook "is extending an olive branch" to the Trump administration, said Nancy Tengler, CEO of money manager Laffer Tengler Investments, which owns Apple stock. Despite Wednesday's upturn, Apple's shares are still down by 15% this year, a reversal of fortune that has also been driven by the company's botched start in the pivotal field of artificial intelligence.
