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08-08-2025
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has announced a $100bn increase in the amount of money the technology company Apple plans to invest in the United States.
At an Oval Office ceremony on Wednesday, Trump stood next to Apple CEO Tim Cook and credited the increased investment to his “America First” policy agenda.
He noted that the overall investment that Apple anticipates making over the next four years now amounts to $600bn.
“This is the largest investment Apple has ever made in America and anywhere else,” Trump said. “Apple’s been an investor in other countries a little bit. I won’t say which ones, but a couple. And they’re coming home.”
Trump has pushed for greater domestic manufacturing in the tech sector and other industries, and he has threatened companies with steep tariffs if they continue to do business overseas.
As part of Wednesday’s announcement, Trump said he would impose a tariff of approximately 100 percent on any imported chips and semiconductors arriving in the US.
“We’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors,” Trump explained“But the good news for companies like Apple is, if you’re building in the United States or have committed to build, without question, in the United States, but “there will be no charge.”
Experts have questioned whether Trump’s protectionist policies may dampen US trade and increase prices for American consumers but at Wednesday’s press event, Trump dismissed such concerns as evidence of media bias against his administration.
“I listen to these horrendous frauds on CNN and various other fake news networks, and they say costs are up. No, no. Costs are down,” Trump said. “Everything’s down. Price is down. The only thing that’s up is stock prices.”
For his part, Cook confirmed the increase in his company’s domestic investments, saying he had signed new agreements with 10 companies in the US to kickstart more manufacturing.
“Earlier this year, we made our largest-ever spending commitment: $500bn to the US over the next four years. That’s already yielding results. Earlier this year, we broke ground on a new factory in Houston to make advanced AI servers,” Cook said.
“I’m glad to be here with you today, and I’m very proud to say that today we’re committing an additional 100bn to the United States, bringing our total US investment to 600bn over the next four years.”
He also praised the president for his economic initiatives: “You’ve been a great advocate for American innovation and manufacturing.”
Previously, in February, Apple had announced the initial investment of $500bn, which included plans for the factory in Texas to produce artificial intelligence servers.
It also laid the groundwork for the addition of about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country but Apple has pledged many investments in the US in the last decade, not exclusively under Trump’s second term.
For instance, in 2018, during Trump’s first term, the company pledged $350bn. In 2021, under former President Joe Biden, Apple announced a $430bn investment.
The latest investment, however, comes after Trump warned that he would hit Apple with a 25-percent tariff if it did not move its manufacturing efforts to the US. Analysts have said such a shift is not realistic.
Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities said in a note that it would take at least five to 10 years to shift production to the US, and the resulting price hike could mean that consumers would pay as much as $3,500 for an iPhone. (Int’l News Desk)
