Apple announces huge US investment amid tariff threats that could affect iPhone
Apple outlined several concrete moves in its announcement, the most significant of which is the construction of a new factory in Houston.
Apple has announced it will invest more than 500 billion dollars (£395 billion) in the United States over the next four years, including plans to hire 20,000 people and build a new server factory in Texas.
The move comes just days after President Donald Trump said Apple chief executive Tim Cook promised him that the tech giant’s manufacturing would shift from Mexico to the US.
Mr Trump noted the company was doing so to avoid paying tariffs.
That pledge, coupled with Monday’s investment commitment, came as Mr Trump continues to threaten to impose tariffs that could drive up the cost of iPhones made in China.
Apple outlined several concrete moves in its announcement, the most significant of which is the construction of a new factory in Houston — slated to open in 2026 — that will produce servers to power Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features.
The company claims this factory will create “thousands of jobs”.
The announcement is similar to one Apple made in early 2018 — during the first Trump administration — that promised to create 20,000 new jobs as part of a 350 billion dollar spend in the US.
Mr Trump was also mulling a tariff then that could have affected iPhones at the time, but he did not end up targeting those devices during his first administration.
