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Apple launches the ‘American Manufacturing Program,’ with a new $100B commitment to the US

Apple just announced a new “$100 billion commitment to America”, which includes plans to move the manufacturing of all of the cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch to the U.S. Here are the details.

Apple’s investment in the U.S. to reach $600 billion over the next four years

As Apple investors certainly noticed today, the company’s stock spent most of the day riding on a +5% bump on the news that CEO Tim Cook would join President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to announce a new investment in U.S. manufacturing.

The announcement just happened, with Apple confirming that it will invest an additional $100 billion over the next four years (on top of the previously announced $500 billion), and the unveiling of the American Manufacturing Program (AMP), “dedicated to bringing even more of Apple’s supply chain and advanced manufacturing to the U.S.”

Apple to move all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass production to the U.S.

From Apple’s announcement:

“The American Manufacturing Program will help fund a major expansion of Apple’s long-standing partnership with Corning, bringing the world’s largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line to a factory in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The expansion means that soon, every iPhone and Apple Watch sold around the world will be built with Kentucky-made cover glass. The two companies will also open a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center in Kentucky.

Top comment by Blurft

Liked by 13 people

...enough to apparently secure a truce and get Apple back on Trump’s good side.

Secure? Are we sure about that?

It's enough to get Apple another round of praise, a mild stock bump, and maybe some tariff exemptions for this round of tariffs, but it obviously won't last forever. All of their past attempts to appease him didn't "secure" lasting good will and neither will this.

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As part of the AMP, Apple also announced:

  • An expansion of its silicon supply chain across every step of chip production;
  • An expanded agreement with Coherent, which manufactures VSCEL lasers used in Face ID and other iPhone and iPad features;
  • A 250,000-square-foot server facility in Houston, which will power Apple Intelligence and Private Cloud Compute;
  • New hiring plans for up to 20,000 direct jobs focused on AI, silicon engineering, and software development;
  • Expansion of its Maiden, NC data center, and ongoing construction at facilities in Nevada, Iowa, and Oregon;
  • An Apple Manufacturing Academy opening in Detroit later this month to support small and midsize U.S. manufacturers;

Apple might be back on Trump’s good graces

Today’s new commitments come after weeks of tension between the Trump administration and Tim Cook, and signals a renewed accord between Apple and the U.S. government. Many of Trump’s acolytes had taken to openly criticizing Apple in interviews, calling for iPhone manufacturing to be brought to the U.S, which many analysts have deemed impossible.

While today’s commitment doesn’t specifically involve manufacturing iPhones in the U.S., it does involve sourcing domestic materials and investing in domestic labour enough to apparently secure a truce and get Apple back on Trump’s good side.

What are your thoughts about the announcement? Let us know in the comments.

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Author

Avatar for Marcus Mendes Marcus Mendes

Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.

He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.