Yikes!
That was an unexpected development in the ongoing trade war between the Trump administration and various entities accused of undermining American workers via prohibitive tariffs.
It would appear that Trump is not considering fighting other countries with tariffs, but also entire companies … even if the companies are American.
According to a report from The Hill, Trump recently informed Apple CEO Tim Cook that he must be making moves in favor of bringing production back to the United States.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump declared.
And if Cook does not comply?
“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. … Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump asserted.
At this point in time, Apple had been making a valiant effort to move manufacturing out of China due to major security concerns.
“Britain’s Financial Times and other Western media outlets say US tech giant Apple plans to shift the production of iPhones sold in the United States to India from China. The move is an apparent bid to mitigate risks related to higher tariffs. The media said that Apple aims to assemble all or most of the iPhones it sells in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026. The company sells more than 60 million iPhones a year in the US,” NHK World reported.
Indeed, Apple was concerned about spyware and other hidden elements emerging in its products following the “Foxconn” treatment at China … in which an untold number of microchips or other high-level technologies could have been inserted.
However, Trump states that he is not only concerned about national security, but also economic security.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, ‘Tim you’re my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming in with $500 billion, but now you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India,” Trump declared.
Interesting point.
“I said, ‘Tim, look, we’ve treated you really good. We’ve put up with all the plants that you built in China for years. Now, you gotta build us. We’re not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves. They’re doing very well. We want you to build here … And they’re going to be upping their production in the United States,” Trump added.
Will Apple play ball with Trump?
Time remains to tell …
Though hopefully the China-backed Huawei will not steadily replace the all-American company of Apple … just as China-backed BYD is steadily replacing many Tesla across Europe.
Author: Ofelia Thornton
