Why Apple Probably Won't Make iPhones in USA

Picture Credit: T3

Former President Donald Trump has reignited the debate over iPhone manufacturing, threatening a 25% tariff on Apple unless the company shifts production to the United States. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook that iPhones sold in the U.S. “must be manufactured and built in the United States, not India or anyplace else.”

While Apple has recently ramped up production in India, Cook stated that most U.S.-bound iPhones would still be shipped from there. But experts say moving iPhone production to America would be a massive disruption. Countries like China and India have spent years building the specialized labor force, supply chains, and robotic infrastructure needed to assemble millions of units with extreme precision. U.S. factories, by comparison, would need major investment and automation to compete — and even then, prices could skyrocket.

Only 8% of U.S. workers are employed in manufacturing today, compared to 26% in 1970, making a large-scale shift in production a tall order. Even Apple’s recent $500 billion U.S. investment focuses more on research, smart manufacturing education, and server facilities than on direct iPhone production.

Analysts say automation and design changes could make U.S. assembly viable in the next five years — but not without costs. As Forrester’s Dipanjan Chatterjee notes, Apple now faces a tough balancing act: satisfying political pressure while maintaining the efficiency and cost structure that have made the iPhone a global icon.