Apple CEO Tim Cook and U.S. President Donald Trump collaborated at the White House, revealing Apple’s commitment to boost its U.S. manufacturing investment by an extra $100 billion over the next four years. Trump hailed this as a significant stride towards ensuring that iPhones sold in the U.S. are also manufactured in the country. The initiative, known as the American Manufacturing Program, aims to enhance Apple’s supply chain and advanced manufacturing within the U.S. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, expressed gratitude for the President’s backing and announced collaborations with 10 American companies to produce components for Apple products worldwide. These companies include Corning, Coherent, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, and Broadcom.
Previously aiming to invest $500 billion domestically, Apple now plans to increase this figure to $600 billion. Trump had previously criticized Apple and Tim Cook for considering shifting iPhone production to India to circumvent tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump’s tensions with India escalated when he imposed additional tariffs on the country’s Russian oil imports. Apple’s recent investment follows a $500 million deal with MP Materials to expand a factory in Texas for producing magnets from recycled materials for iPhones. Tim Cook highlighted the various components already made in the U.S., including the iPhone’s glass display and facial recognition module, with plans to increase domestic production further.
Following the news of Apple’s increased U.S. investment, the company’s stock price surged by five percent in midday trading on Wednesday. Despite this positive development, Apple’s shares have declined by 15 percent this year, partly due to challenges in artificial intelligence endeavors.