Apple to Invest Another $100 Billion In the US to Sidestep Massive Tariffs

During its last quarter financial briefing, Apple admitted it had already paid about $800 million to handle ever-changing tariffs and estimated it would pay another $1.1 billion in the current quarter. Apple is poised to spend $100 billion to invest in U.S. manufacturing, which would help the company avoid tariffs and appease the Trump, who has put Apple’s global manufacturing practices squarely in his crosshairs.

Bloomberg reports that President Trump “plans to announce that Apple Inc. will commit to spending another $100 billion on domestic manufacturing.” This move would increase Apple’s U.S. production footprint and mitigate the financially devastating effects of tariffs, especially on high-volume products like the iPhone.

This news is anticipated to be announced today at the White House, and Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to be in attendance.

“President Trump’s America First economic agenda has secured trillions of dollars in investments that support American jobs and bolster American businesses,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers explained in a statement. “Today’s announcement with Apple is another win for our manufacturing industry that will simultaneously help reshore the production of critical components to protect America’s economic and national security.”

The point about national security has been a driving force in the Trump administration’s maligned tariff policy, as the administration is painting a trade deficit as a national security issue to justify the implementation of tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a move currently facing litigation in U.S. federal appeals court.

This is not Apple’s first foray into new U.S. investment. Earlier this year, Apple announced plans to invest $500 billion in the United States. The stock market has responded very positively to Apple’s investment news, with Apple shares up nearly 6% today, reaching their highest point in months.

Bloomberg‘s Intelligence analysts Anurag Rana and Andrew Girard speculate that Apple’s new investment pledge may “soften the White House’s ire” concerning Apple’s overseas production, specifically its iPhone manufacturing efforts in India.

President Trump today threatened India with a 50% tariff because it continues to import Russian oil, CNN reports. This move, which the administration characterizes as a punishment to India, will, like all tariffs, primarily harm American consumers and companies, at least in the short term. However, CNBC reports that Apple’s interests in India will be largely unaffected by new reciprocal tariffs against India.

It remains unclear what more of Apple’s production being in the United States would mean for its product prices. However, a safe and reasonable bet is that tariff savings will not fully cover the increased costs of making electronics in the U.S.

It will also not be a swift process for Apple to transform its manufacturing strategy and processes. Any large-scale manufacturing moves require significant investment and time. Apple is also working to negotiate import tax exceptions for some of its products, much like Apple achieved during Trump’s first term.

Further, as BBC‘s reporting about TSMC’s semiconductor project in Arizona shows, building new manufacturing plants is not straightforward. The massive $65 billion facility is expected to begin operation sometime this year, but as CTEE in Taiwan explains, the secretive facility’s third fab, which will utilize a 2nm production process, is not expected to be fully in place until 2030.

Even with Apple announcing $600 billion in total investment in the United States so far this year, it is difficult to predict when anything will transpire. In the meantime, whether Apple will be able to carve out any tariff exceptions will be something for consumers to keep an eye on, as many Apple products will continue to be manufactured in India and Vietnam for the foreseeable future.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.