Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Trump flashed bright smiles at the White House on Wednesday after the iPhone maker pledged to throw another $100 billion toward domestic manufacturing.
The fresh investment over the next four years — on top of the $500 billion commitment made earlier this year – was announced hours after Trump slapped an additional 25% tariff on India, one of the main producers of its flagship iPhone.
But Apple will be “largely unaffected” by the latest executive order, CNBC reported, citing White House sources.
During their meeting in the Oval Office to unveil details of the new funding, Trump introduced Cook as “one of the truly great legends of our time.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were also in attendance.
“It’s the biggest investment Apple has ever made in America and anywhere else,” Trump said, before taking a jab at Cook. “As you know, Apple has been an investor in other countries a little bit – I won’t say which ones, but a couple. And they’re coming home.”
The “American Manufacturing Program” aims to boost Apple’s ability to make more critical components for its products in the US, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company said.
“This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America,” Cook said. “They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we’re grateful to the President for his support.”
Initial partners include Corning, which received a new $2.5 billion spending commitment from Apple to produce 100% of the cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches at Corning’s expanded Kentucky-based manufacturing plant.
Other partners include Coherent, GlobalWafers America, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Amkor and Broadcom, according to a press release.
Applied Materials will provide chipmaking equipment for use in Texas Instruments plants around the country as part of the Apple partnership.
“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 said in an earlier 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,” Rogers added.
Apple shares jumped 5.1% to close at $213.28 ahead of the event.
Some critics have expressed skepticism as to whether Apple will follow through on its massive $600 billion spending pledge – which includes projects the company has already announced in the past.
In one instance, Apple said in 2021 that it would build a new facility in North Carolina – only to announce last year that it was pausing the plan.
“This is an old playbook: to distract from Apple’s reliance on China and entanglement with the CCP, Tim Cook makes promises to build in America,” one former Trump administration official told The Post. “If past is prologue, they won’t deliver on these promises.”
Trump has pressured Cook to move more production to the US and reduce its dependency on China — where Apple still manufactures most of its iPhones.
In February, Cook said the company would spend $500 billion in the US over the next four years and build out a manufacturing plant in Houston.
Apple had shifted more production to India to avoid steep tariffs imposed on Chinese-made imports, which are currently at 30%.
Trump said he raised concerns about Apple’s shift toward India during a May conversation with Cook.
“We’re not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves … we want you to build here,” Trump said he told the Apple CEO at the time.
Trump had earlier exempted several products key to Apple’s business, including smartphones and chips, from the reciprocal tariffs on other countries that he unveiled in April.
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