Apple Announces $100 Billion U.S. Expansion, Vows to Shift Supply Chain, Amidst Potential Tariffs on Imported Chips

Apple announced an additional $100 billion investment to bolster its operations within the United States, a move that comes amidst President Trump’s threat to impose hefty tariffs on imported semiconductors and chips.

The tech giant’s latest commitment follows an initial pledge of $500 billion earmarked for domestic growth earlier this year. The new initiative focuses on strengthening relationships with key domestic suppliers, as Trump exerts pressure on Apple and other tech heavyweights to relocate production domestically.

During a White House event celebrating the investment, President Trump reaffirmed his tariff strategy by hinting at 100% duties on semiconductors and chips manufactured overseas. However, he clarified that companies committed to domestic manufacturing would be exempt from such charges. The precise timeline for an official announcement regarding chip tariffs remains unclear.

“But the good news for companies like Apple is, if you’re building in the United States or have committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,” Trump said, referring to semiconductor tariffs.

In a press release announcing the initiative, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed gratitude towards the president. During his address alongside Trump, Cook acknowledged that while an iPhone completely assembled domestically is still a distant prospect, the company is focusing on manufacturing iPhone components within the U.S. – a strategy Trump seems content with for now.

“Look, he’s not making this kind of an investment anywhere in the world, not even close,” Trump stated. “He’s coming back to America.”

The new investment will include the launch of an American Manufacturing Program aimed at relocating a significant portion of Apple’s supply chain to the U.S. Key partners for the program will reportedly include Corning, Coherent, GlobalWafers America, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, Samsung, and Broadcom.

Apple aims to create a domestic chip supply chain through this program, anticipating production of over 19 billion chips for its products by 2025. These chips will be manufactured in 24 factories across 12 states.

“I’m proud to say that Apple is leading the creation of an end-to-end silicon supply chain right here in America, from design to equipment to wafer production to fabrication to packaging,” Cook said during the event.

In addition to its expanded partnership with glass supplier Corning, Apple is deepening its relationship with Coherent, which supplies lasers for iPhone facial recognition tools.

The administration has been advocating for tech giants like Apple to produce their products domestically instead of relying on assembly facilities and supply chains primarily based in China, India, and Vietnam.

“As you know, Apple has been an investor in other countries a little bit, I won’t say which ones, but a couple,” Trump said during the event.

Trump posited Apple’s latest announcement as a step towards manufacturing iPhones domestically; however, experts caution that this could prove challenging due to a scarcity of skilled technical workforce and higher labor costs. Moreover, many of Apple’s key suppliers are situated in Asia, implying that domestic assembly would necessitate shipping parts globally.

Cook confirmed that iPhones will continue to be assembled abroad for the time being but emphasized that several critical iPhone components will be manufactured in America.

“Well, if you look at the bulk of it, we’re doing a lot of the semiconductors here, we’re doing the glass here, we’re doing the Face ID module here, and so there’s a ton of it, and we’re doing these for products sold elsewhere in the world,” Cook said. “And so there’s a lot of content in there from United States.”

Trump has previously hinted at imposing additional tariffs on Apple and Samsung, the world’s two largest smartphone manufacturers, unless they transition their production to the U.S. However, on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged the logistical and financial challenges associated with relocating iPhone assembly to America.

“We’ve been talking about it, and the whole thing is set up at other places, and it’s been there for a long time,” Trump said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly held private discussions with Trump regarding the impact of tariffs on his company in recent months. During Apple’s earnings call last week, Cook projected that the company would incur $1.1 billion in tariff-related costs during the September quarter.

The announcement comes at a time when Trump recently increased tariffs on India, where Apple manufactures most of the iPhones it sells domestically. In May, Trump also expressed frustration with Cook over the company’s decision to produce iPhones in India.

However, smartphones are exempt from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs levied against numerous trading partners, as well as the newly announced 25% additional tariffs on India – a significant advantage for companies such as Apple.

As part of its initial commitment to invest $500 billion in the U.S., Apple plans to establish a manufacturing academy in Detroit and source rare earths, crucial for electronics like smartphones and televisions, from US-based supplier MP Materials.

Apple’s latest American expansion comes amidst navigating numerous challenges throughout 2025. In addition to addressing Trump’s tariffs, the company has delayed a significant update to its Siri virtual assistant due to pressure to keep pace with competitors like OpenAI and Google in the AI race.

Despite these hurdles, analysts remain optimistic that Apple can avoid severe damage from tariffs, partially due to Cook’s close ties with the Trump administration.

“Tim Cook is known to be the supply chain genius of technology,” Ted Mortonson, technology sector strategist at financial services company Baird, told CNN. “And I think his whole supply chain team is well aware… before it happens, what the Trump administration is thinking and not thinking.”

In recent months, numerous tech giants have expanded their American footprint, with Texas Instruments pledging $60 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing in June, Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC investing $100 billion in U.S. manufacturing in March, and leading AI chipmaker Nvidia announcing plans to build its supercomputers in the U.S. in April. This story has been updated with additional context and developments.