Apple signs meaningless deal to make some less-important parts in America
(2026/03/26)
- Reference: 1774544989
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/26/apple_expands_list_of_bits/
- Source link:
Apple's American Manufacturing Program (AMP) is expanding, with new suppliers signed on to produce iPhone components - though those parts will still be shipped overseas for final assembly. Tim Apple may continue avoiding tariffs but he probably won't win a lot of brownie points with President Trump.
The iBiz [1]confirmed on Thursday that Bosch, fabless chip firm Cirrus Logic, TDK, and component maker Qnity Electronics have all committed to make parts for Apple devices in US facilities. Apple intends to pay the new AMP members out of a $400 million pot through 2030.
The AMP program is part of a broader pledge to spend [2]$600 billion on US manufacturing by the end of the decade, in a bid to appease the Trump administration and [3]avoid tariffs on iPhones and other devices manufactured overseas. Apple has so far announced plans to produce servers, chips, and [4]Mac Minis in the US.
[5]
iPhones, which Trump signaled he wants made in the US, remain conspicuously absent from today's announcement, as was the case in prior US manufacturing plans published in recent months. [6]Apple has long maintained that it is unlikely to manufacture iPhones on US soil as it is impractical due to costs, supply chain complexity, and workforce requirements training.
[7]
[8]
The new AMP members will make iPhone parts that are then shipped to factories in India and China for final assembly.
Specifically, TDK will soon begin making sensors in the US for iPhone cameras "shipped all over the world," said Apple. TSMC will begin manufacturing integrated circuits used in Apple sensors for things like crash detection, activity tracking, and elevation at its Washington state facility on behalf of Bosch. And Cirrus Logic will work with initial AMP member GlobalFoundries to establish new semiconductor process tech for use in manufacturing integrated circuits for Face ID hardware.
[9]Trump says he has a problem if Apple builds iThings in India
[10]Loser Trump's last financial disclosure docs reveal Tim Cook gave him $5,999 Mac Pro, the 'first' made in Texas
[11]Trump can bluster and bluff all he wants, but iPhone manufacturing isn't coming to the US
[12]Apple's Creator Studio creates a subscription where free apps used to live
Qnity Electronics, for its part, will supply "materials and technologies essential for semiconductor manufacturing and advanced electronics," Apple said.
Apple claimed its initial AMP partners, including Broadcom, Corning, Samsung, and others, have already made progress expanding their US manufacturing base for Apple products, though it didn't detail how.
[13]
None of this amounts to a US-made iPhone, which might explain why Apple boss Tim Cook, [14]criticized of late for his attempt to cultivate a relationship with the White House, was absent from the list of Silicon Valley leaders [15]picked for the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Apple didn't respond to a request for comment. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-adds-new-partners-to-its-american-manufacturing-program/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/apple_pledges_another_100b_us_manufacturing/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/26/us_apple_eu_tariffs/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/24/apple_mac_mini_us/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/09/iphones_manufacture_unlikely_in_us/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/trump_apple_india_warning/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/21/tim_cook_gave_trump_a_mac_pro/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/27/trumps_iphone_manufacture/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/apple_ads_creator_studio/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-response-trump-relationship-criticism-2026-3
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/25/trump_science_tech_panel/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The iBiz [1]confirmed on Thursday that Bosch, fabless chip firm Cirrus Logic, TDK, and component maker Qnity Electronics have all committed to make parts for Apple devices in US facilities. Apple intends to pay the new AMP members out of a $400 million pot through 2030.
The AMP program is part of a broader pledge to spend [2]$600 billion on US manufacturing by the end of the decade, in a bid to appease the Trump administration and [3]avoid tariffs on iPhones and other devices manufactured overseas. Apple has so far announced plans to produce servers, chips, and [4]Mac Minis in the US.
[5]
iPhones, which Trump signaled he wants made in the US, remain conspicuously absent from today's announcement, as was the case in prior US manufacturing plans published in recent months. [6]Apple has long maintained that it is unlikely to manufacture iPhones on US soil as it is impractical due to costs, supply chain complexity, and workforce requirements training.
[7]
[8]
The new AMP members will make iPhone parts that are then shipped to factories in India and China for final assembly.
Specifically, TDK will soon begin making sensors in the US for iPhone cameras "shipped all over the world," said Apple. TSMC will begin manufacturing integrated circuits used in Apple sensors for things like crash detection, activity tracking, and elevation at its Washington state facility on behalf of Bosch. And Cirrus Logic will work with initial AMP member GlobalFoundries to establish new semiconductor process tech for use in manufacturing integrated circuits for Face ID hardware.
[9]Trump says he has a problem if Apple builds iThings in India
[10]Loser Trump's last financial disclosure docs reveal Tim Cook gave him $5,999 Mac Pro, the 'first' made in Texas
[11]Trump can bluster and bluff all he wants, but iPhone manufacturing isn't coming to the US
[12]Apple's Creator Studio creates a subscription where free apps used to live
Qnity Electronics, for its part, will supply "materials and technologies essential for semiconductor manufacturing and advanced electronics," Apple said.
Apple claimed its initial AMP partners, including Broadcom, Corning, Samsung, and others, have already made progress expanding their US manufacturing base for Apple products, though it didn't detail how.
[13]
None of this amounts to a US-made iPhone, which might explain why Apple boss Tim Cook, [14]criticized of late for his attempt to cultivate a relationship with the White House, was absent from the list of Silicon Valley leaders [15]picked for the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Apple didn't respond to a request for comment. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-adds-new-partners-to-its-american-manufacturing-program/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/apple_pledges_another_100b_us_manufacturing/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/26/us_apple_eu_tariffs/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/24/apple_mac_mini_us/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/09/iphones_manufacture_unlikely_in_us/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/trump_apple_india_warning/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/21/tim_cook_gave_trump_a_mac_pro/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/27/trumps_iphone_manufacture/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/apple_ads_creator_studio/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acW6ljmzUynGQKbt-oE_XwAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-response-trump-relationship-criticism-2026-3
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/25/trump_science_tech_panel/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Anonymous Coward
Isn't this a case of "Apple's suppliers promise to make stuff in the USA, Apple does nothing" ?
And Melania dancing with US-made robots
PhilipN
Where did all the components come from?
It may be mostly meaningless
DS999
But when it comes to Trump all you need is distraction - something you can point to that you can claim is going along with his petty demands. These may be low value fairly generic parts but making a couple bucks worth of parts in the US rather than Asia still counts as "progress".
Re: It may be mostly meaningless
elsergiovolador
When it comes to Trump all you need is Epstein files.
No manufacturing allowed
MachDiamond
The US has been slowing banning manufacturing in the country. Particularly for small companies that can't afford entire departments to keep up with all of the regulations. Some industries such as metal platers have brought some of that on themselves, but if a company can't coat machined metal parts, they can't make them in the US. Sending a rusty chunk of steel to India will only have them plating the rust rather than doing a quick clean first. I did some consulting for a company importnig products from China and found the chrome coming off due to the rust underneath. Not just a little rust either. It's what would have happened if freshly machined parts were stored outside for a couple of weeks in the rain wrapped in an acidic paper.
If
If Tim started production in Russia, maybe Krasnov would have given him a sloppy one.