Washington (AFP) – Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday. Trump announced the increased commitment at the White House alongside the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook, calling it “the largest investment Apple has made in America.”
“Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain,” Trump added, highlighting a new production facility for the glass used to make iPhone screens in Kentucky. In February, Apple said it would spend more than $500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision. It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said it would invest $430 billion in the country and add 20,000 jobs over the next five years.
“This year alone, American manufacturers are on track to make 19 billion chips for Apple in 24 factories across 12 different states,” Cook said in the Oval Office. Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment. “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,” Trump said.
Cook later clarified that, while many iPhone components will be manufactured in the United States, the complete assembly of iPhones will still be conducted overseas. “If you look at the bulk of it, we’re doing a lot of the semiconductors here, we’re doing the glass here, we’re doing the Face ID module here…and we’re doing these for products sold elsewhere in the world,” Cook said.
– ‘They’re coming home’ –
Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose a “100 percent” tariff on imported semiconductors, a major export of Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Japan. “We’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors,” he told reporters Wednesday at the White House. While he did not offer a timetable for enactment of the new tech levies, on Tuesday he said fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors and chips could be unveiled within the coming week.
The US is “going to be very rich and it’s companies like Apple, they’re coming home,” Trump said. Trump specified further that “Apple will help develop and manufacture semiconductors and semiconductor equipment in Texas, Utah, Arizona, and New York.” He noted that if tech companies commit to manufacturing their wares in the US, “there will be no charge.”
Apple reported a quarterly profit of $23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump’s sweeping levies. The tariffs are essentially a tax paid by companies importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad.
© 2024 AFP
