"Its largest spending commitment ever" : Apple announced on Monday, February 24, that it would invest $500 billion in the United States over four years, responding to Donald Trump's demands to bring factories back to the United States. In a press release, the Apple brand promises to hire a total of nearly 20,000 additional people. The money will fund projects in research and development, silicon engineering and artificial intelligence (AI), according to the California-based company.
The Cupertino company added that it will increase capacity at its existing sites in the country, such as its data centers in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. A new factory, which will make AI servers for the California-based company, will open by 2026 in Houston, Texas. A “manufacturing academy” will also be created in Detroit, a structure that helps small companies get started in manufacturing. "We believe in the future of American innovation and are proud to build on our long-standing American investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future," Tim Cook was quoted in the statement.
Donald Trump welcomes "his plans for a factory in Mexico that were stopped," even though they never existed
These announcements come a few days after the meeting between Donald Trump and Tim Cook: last Thursday, the American president had also leaked some of the announcements from that day. "Cook is investing hundreds of billions of dollars and others too," the billionaire said, as reported by Axios. The White House tenant added:
A statement that Tim Cook was careful not to correct, because Apple has never had the slightest factory project (or the slightest factory) in Mexico, recalls the American journalist Mark Gurman on Threads. But the threat of customs duties is very real. Since his return to power, the American president has threatened to impose an additional 10% tax on products imported from China on February 1. A problem for Apple, which is still looking to diversify its supply chain in India and other parts of Asia. The American company remains very dependent on its suppliers and factories based in China.
A strategy already adopted during Donald Trump's first term
These announcements by Apple are reminiscent of those made during Donald Trump's first term. The apple brand had already managed to avoid additional customs duties by announcing similar investments in the United States. In 2018, for example, the Californian group had highlighted a "direct contribution" of $350 billion to the American economy. He also argued that additional taxes would mostly benefit competitors like Samsung, recalls Bloomberg. He also reportedly promised to build three “big factories, beautiful factories,” according to statements made by Donald Trump during his first term—factories that never saw the light of day, and which Apple has never explained, recalls Mark Gurman, a journalist at Bloomberg.
Same story in 2021: the Cupertino company has committed to investing $430 billion in the United States and creating 20,000 jobs across the country over a five-year period. Now, Apple is doing the same for Donald Trump's second term, facing a president who has adopted a similar strategy: encouraging American companies to manufacture products on American soil, by waving the flag of import taxes.
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