Donald Trump Says He’s Discussed Making Apple Products in the US With Tim Cook

The 45th President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, is said to have spoken to Apple CEO Tim Cook about manufacturing the company's products in the US.

In an interview with the New York Times, Trump recounted a recent phone call with the Apple CEO where he 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”.

Bringing manufacturing back to the United States was one of the promises of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. But as The Verge reports, convincing American companies to manufacture in the US isn’t going to be easy. Relatively cheaper labour isn’t the only reason a majority of electronics are manufactured in China. A product like the iPhone is made out of many separate components, which are also made in China. To get all those parts exported to the United States only to assemble there will reportedly more than double the manufacturing cost.

Currently, it is estimated that it costs Apple $224.80 (roughly Rs. 15,300) to manufacture one iPhone 7, which ultimately retails for $649 (roughly Rs. 44,240) in the US.

Although Apple didn’t confirm the conversation between Cook and Trump, just last week there were reports of the Cupertino company considering manufacturing iPhones in the US. Also, Trump is said to do his bit in offering “a large large tax cut for corporations” and removal of regulations, among other things to ease setting up manufacturing in the United States again.

Apple has tried manufacturing low-volume products locally like the Mac Pro in 2013. Other electronics makers like Motorola also tried manufacturing their Android smartphones in the US around that time, only to shut it down a year later after being acquired by Chinese giant Lenovo.