This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.
With Apple deeply mired in the tariff-related crosshairs of the Trump administration, Tim Cook seems to have no other alternative to deflecting President Trump's ire than to commit to investing a gargantuan sum of money in the US.
That Trump ardently desires Apple's iPhones to be manufactured in the US is no longer an arcane summary of the dynamics between the President of the US and the increasingly besieged CEO of Apple, notwithstanding the monumental logistical challenges, including a sizable labor cost differential, in achieving this lofty goal.
When Trump imposed punitive tariffs on China, Apple was able to shift the bulk of its iPhone production activities to India. Now, however, India too is seemingly caught in the ever-evolving geopolitical stance of the Trump administration, with threats of a 25 percent general tariff, plus an unspecified levy for continued purchases of Russian crude, likely in the offing.
While Trump has previously exempted the shipments of iPhones and other smartphones from punitive China-focused levies, the current situation is simply too volatile to plan an entire international network of logistical hubs and supply chains, especially for a logistical cadence as intricate as that of Apple's iPhones.
This brings us to the core of today's topic. Perhaps in a bid to win some much-needed guarantees from the Trump administration, Apple is reportedly ready to invest $600 billion in the US over the next 4 years. This constitutes a $100 billion increase from Apple's previous commitments, with the delta constituting the implied price that Apple is seemingly ready to pay to win exemptions from any punitive tariffs that Trump might impose on India.
A formal announcement is due later today when Trump and Apple's Tim Cook are scheduled to meet at the White House. Of course, the relationship between the duo is anything but sanguine. Trump had declared in a presser back in May:
"I told Tim Cook we're not interested in you building [Apple] in India, they can take care of themselves, you up your production here [US]."
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
