President-elect Donald Trump says he received phone calls from Apple CEO Time Cook, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates following his presidential win earlier this month. Trump tells the New York Times that he discussed bringing production of Apple products to the U.S. with Cook, offering a “very large tax cut” and “substantial regulation cuts” as incentives.
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.’
Trump says Cook acknowledged the proposition by merely replying “I understand that.” Trump then shared information about the proposed incentives.
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.’ But we’re going for big tax cuts, we have to get rid of regulations, regulations are making it impossible. Whether you’re liberal or conservative, I mean I could sit down and show you regulations that anybody would agree are ridiculous. It’s gotten to be a free-for-all. And companies can’t, they can’t even start up, they can’t expand, they’re choking.
While not confirmed by Apple, a recent report indicated Apple has asked its overseas manufacturing partner, Foxconn, to look at the possibility of moving iPhone production to the United States. Foxconn agreed, but expressed concern about the higher production costs resulting from such a move.
Apple has received some criticism over the years for its dependence on Chinese manufacturing but the issue has recently received new attention, as Trump, now U.S. President-elect, said earlier this year in a speech during a campaign stop at Liberty University in Virginia, “we’re going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries.” Trump has also threatened to push a 45% tariff on products imported from China.
Apple currently manufactures all of its products – except the low-volume Mac Pro lineup – in overseas plants, mostly located in China. The Mac Pro is manufactured in a facility located in Texas.
