Apple piles another $100B on top of previous US manufacturing pledge
- Reference: 1754520700
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/06/apple_pledges_another_100b_us_manufacturing/
- Source link:
The cornerstone of Apple's additional commitment will be a new project called the American Manufacturing Program. [1]According to an Apple press release, the program will see Apple investing in growing its domestic manufacturing commitments in a number of different directions in addition to what it's done so far.
"We're proud to increase our investments across the United States to $600 billion over four years and launch our new American Manufacturing Program," Apple CEO Tim Cook said.
[2]
Apple has made much of its attempts to appease Trump's domestic manufacturing demands, which have come following threats of [3]tariffs on iPhones produced outside the United States. Despite those demands, Apple has [4]long insisted that iPhone manufacturing is unlikely to return to the United States, and the Wednesday announcement was yet another opportunity Apple used not to make that move.
[5]
[6]
But while Apple won't be bringing iPhone manufacturing back to the United States, it will be making a number of parts for the industry-leading devices at US facilities.
The program will see Apple expand its partnership with Gorilla Glass maker Corning to centralize iPhone and Apple Watch glass production at its Kentucky factory. The iBiz also struck a new multiyear deal with Coherent, its long-standing VCSEL laser partner, to produce the Face ID and related sensor lasers for iPhone and iPad in Texas. Expansion of domestic semiconductor partnerships with US firms such as Texas Instruments, GlobalWafers America, and MP Materials (the nation's [7]only domestic rare earth magnet maker ), and others, also mean that some of the silicon and magnet components for iPhone devices sold in the US will actually be made here, too.
[8]
"[These partners] produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we're grateful to the President for his support," Cook said. He appears to have risen in Trump's standing, being referred to as "one of the truly great legends of our time in my book" instead of " [9]Tim Apple " at this meeting.
Apple's latest manufacturing investment follows a [10]$500 billion domestic manufacturing commitment the company announced in February, which will mostly fund new facilities in Texas and Arizona for constructing AI-accelerating servers and chips, respectively. Apple also said it intends to do more research and development domestically as part of that deal.
[11]Panic buying ahead of Trump tariffs added $825 million to Apple's sales last quarter
[12]Apple auto-opts everyone into having their photos analyzed by AI for landmarks
[13]India eats China's lunch in US smartphone manufacturing
[14]Tim Cook's Tim Cook stepping down from Apple
Apple also last month [15]announced the opening of a manufacturing academy in Detroit in partnership with Michigan State University, where it educates small and mid-size businesses on smart manufacturing and, [16]ironically [17]enough , given Apple's stumbles in the space, AI implementation. The academy's doors open later this month, and virtual programming will also be offered at a later date.
That hasn't been enough to ease the threat of Trump's tariffs, however. Apple moved much of its US-bound iPhone manufacturing to India – something Trump said he [18]doesn't like much – but the iPhone is exempt from the 25 percent tariff, which kicks off overnight, and goes up to 50 percent by the end of the month, according to [19]CNBC . That said, Trump has changed his mind on tariffs many times, and may at any point decide to end that exemption. Wednesday's manufacturing commitment could help Apple stave off that possibility.
"This is the largest investment Apple has ever made in the US or anywhere else," Trump claimed from the Oval Office. "Apple's been an investor in other countries a little bit – I won't say which ones, but they're coming home." ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/08/apple-increases-us-commitment-to-600-billion-usd-announces-ambitious-program/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJQk3kQhL9a1kkOpVVZGXAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/26/us_apple_eu_tariffs/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/09/iphones_manufacture_unlikely_in_us/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJQk3kQhL9a1kkOpVVZGXAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJQk3kQhL9a1kkOpVVZGXAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/15/apple_rare_earth_recycling/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJQk3kQhL9a1kkOpVVZGXAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2019/03/07/trump_occupational_surnames/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/24/apple_us_manufacturing/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/01/good_news_apple_says_trump/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/03/apple_enhanced_visual_search/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/smartphone_china_india/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/08/apple_coo_williams_retiring/
[15] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/07/apple-manufacturing-academy-opens-in-detroit-on-august-19/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/21/apple_hallucinated_siri_ai_features/
[17] https://basicappleguy.com/basicappleblog/siriously-delayed
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/trump_apple_india_warning/
[19] https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/08/06/white-house-says-apple-will-remain-largely-unaffected-by-the-tariffs-targeting-india.html
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Really?
Laughable comment.
beast666 is not fit for purpose.
Don't be silly.
Apple is perfectly fit for purpose.
You just have to understand what that purpose is ... i.e. making money for the shareholders, like every other corporation.
Fire, frying pan
The US has a trade surplus with South and Central America ~ 3 or 4 billion a year. In 2024, the United States accounted for approximately 43.9% of Mexico's total imports, making it the largest source of goods for Mexico. The math says that if the factories were built there, not only would it be a secure supply, but more of that money would be spent on importing from the US than anywhere else in the world. The wages are cheap and workers very hard working. It would take time and effort of course, and it would affect shareholders in the short term. But not in the long term.
Get real.
They'll spend the next three and a half years supposedly planning the new manufacturing facilities, stringing along the complete fucking morons in the Trump administration, and then drop it on January 1, 2029 when a sane administration drops all the tariffs (taxes) that have been inflicted on the American public.
I'll be shocked if Apple spends more than back-of-the-sofa change on this so-called "project", probably in the very low 7 figures. (An administrator, his secretary, and a couple flunkies to make power point presentations should be enough to fool the idiots in charge.) They'll do just barely enough to be kept out of list of folks required to pay the tarrifs.
A couple more years
Apple just needs to promise and make noises about investments in US manufacturing long enough for there to be a change in administration. They can promise things that would honestly take more than 6 months to accomplish. They can even buy the land they might need since it would likely be a good investment along with a return in the form of PR value.
I never buy much new stuff anyway so don't care about Apple being "Made in the USA". The camera I just bought a few hours ago is 3-4 generations back, but was a top of the line DSLR when it was released and looks like it's in amazing condition. Fingers crossed it's as advertised when I get it in a couple of days. I considered a newer model, but customers won't pay me an extra $50/job and 50mp files are slower to process. For many things, something a few years old isn't that different than a similar thing bought new in the shops. My Cuisinart chops up food as well as any new/shiny/fancy one costing much more. My cost for the 3 units I own might add up to $40 total including just about every accessory made for them. (I positively bought one and the other two were going to get sent to landfill so I offered $1 ea and got them). I bought a freeze dryer for $125 that was the first model Harvest Right put out and doesn't have the fancy touch screen. Saved me about a grand and I can live with the manual controls. (dryer was free, getting it home was the cost).
Apple is not fit for purpose.