Trump says the iPhone could be Made in the US

With a looming trade war, the subject matter takes up a lot of time for Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, who is otherwise mostly known for allowing influencers access to White House press conferences, false claims of the usage of taxpayer dollars in Gaza, and failing to disclose illicit campaign donations.

In a press conference on the 8th of April 2025, roughly 14:24 into the session, Leavitt claimed that Trump thinks it's not only possible, but that the $500 billion investment plan Apple announced recently was proof of it being possible, saying, "If Apple didn't think the United States could do it, they probably wouldn't have put up that big chunk of change."

This was part of an exchange with Maggie Haberman from The New York Times, who, like many others, was interested in more details about "The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones" - a statement from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

There are a few problems with the statement, besides the fact that we have not heard Trump himself make the claim.

First, as of the time of writing, Trump is looking into imposing a 104% combined tariff on Chinese goods, most likely more than doubling the price of an iPhone for the US consumer. Even with manufacturing on US soil, most of, if not all, the raw materials would still have to be imported.

Secondly, the US lacks the factories to make the individual components at the scale needed. Such factories take years to build and even more to train staff.

Thirdly, there is a scale issue. Tim Cook has previously stated that choosing China was a decision based on skill and specialisation, rather than cost, at the 2017 Fortune Magazine Global Forum. In the 2011 Walter Isaacson biography Steve Jobs, it's revealed that at the time—when we may assume production was at a smaller scale than currently—700,000 workers and 30,000 engineers were needed for the factories to run. The US did not at the time, and most likely will not in 2025, have that number of specialised engineers. Also, both Apple CEOs have been asked about the US taking over iPhone production in the past, and both stated clearly that it isn't possible.

And the half a trillion dollar investment? Well, that was already part of a larger planned expansion into general chip manufacturing, with the main investment being a new factory in Houston—not to replace Chinese factories, but to expand capacity.