Apple is considering moving production of its iPhones to the US according to new reports from The New York Times and Nikkei Asian Review.
A source for the latter said that Apple has “asked both Foxconn and Pegatron, the two iPhone assemblers, in June to look into making iPhones in the U.S.”
Foxconn reportedly complied with the request, while Pegatron declined, citing “cost concerns”. The two companies are responsible for assembling 200 million iPhones annually.
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One vocal supporter of such a move is US President-elect Donald Trump, who told The New York Times, in an interview, published Wednesday, that he has spoken to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Trump said: “I was honored yesterday, I got a call from Bill Gates, great call, we had a great conversation, I got a call from Tim Cook at Apple, and I said, ‘Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you’re making your product right here.’
“He said, ‘I understand that.’ I said: ‘I think we’ll create the incentives for you, and I think you’re going to do it. We’re going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you’ll be happy about.’”
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US President-elect Donald Trump
Another source for Nikkei said that Foxconn had been working on the request from Apple to investigate a move stateside, but its Chairman, Terry Gou, had warned of a resulting rise in production costs.
According to the source, the cost of an iPhone could more than double if Apple follows through with moving production to the US.
As DigitalTrends points out, a report in the MIT Technology Review found such a move would add $30 to $40 to the cost of an iPhone.
Earlier this year, Trump made his plans regarding large corporations clear when he said during speech at Liberty University in Virginia: “We’re going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries.
In March, during his Super Tuesday victory speech: “How does it help us when they make it in China?”
At this point, it looks unlikely Apple will be shifting production to the US, but if 2016 has taught us anything, it’s that anything is indeed possible.
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Would you pay more for an iPhone if it were made in the USA? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
