14 DAY TRIAL // One of the promises made by US President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign was that US companies would be pressured to rely more on domestic production and less on facilities based overseas, naming Apple as one particular target that should make devices in the country.
In a recent interview with Axios, Donald Trump reiterated his commitment to this plan, explaining that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook himself is exploring the idea of manufacturing iPhones in the country, so he is very confident that Cupertino could do “something major” in the US.
Tim Cook has his “eyes open to it,” Trump said when being asked about his efforts to convince Apple to build iPhones in the United States, adding that the company’s CEO loves his country.
Chinese suppliers not keen on US production
In late 2016, Donald Trump revealed in an interview that he discussed with Tim Cook the possibility of building iPhones in the country, promising incentives and tax cuts.
“I got a call from Tim Cook at Apple, and I said, ‘Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you’re making your product right here,’” Trump said.
As far as Cook himself is concerned, the Apple CEO rarely talks publicly about moving production to the United States, but it’s believed that he has already approached several suppliers to discuss such a plan.
Chinese suppliers, however, refused to move production of iPhone parts to the US, with Pegatron and Foxconn said to be two of the firms that prefer to stick with Chinese operations.
On the other hand, Foxconn itself is also said to be exploring an expansion in the United States, including a new production facility that would manufacture components for Apple products.