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Trump Administration Reignites Criticism of Apple's China Dependence

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Apple is once again under pressure from the Trump administration over its dependence on Chinese manufacturing, as senior trade advisor Peter Navarro publicly criticized CEO Tim Cook for failing to shift iPhone production to the United States.

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In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," White House Senior Counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro sharply criticized Apple's global manufacturing strategy, focusing on its continued reliance on China for iPhone production. Navarro accused Apple CEO Tim Cook of delaying efforts to relocate operations and claimed that the company had made insufficient progress:

Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China. I mean, it's the longest running soap opera in Silicon Valley. And my problem with Tim Cook is he never takes the steps to actually do that. And with all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it's inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country.
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Multiple industry analysts and economists have warned that reshoring Apple's production facilities to the United States would face serious logistical, economic, and labor-related barriers. Apple currently sources thousands of parts from over 40 countries.

Navarro's comments come as the Trump administration prepares to impose a new round of tariffs following the expiration of the 90-day tariff pause that was introduced in April 2025. During that pause, the administration sought to negotiate updated trade agreements with key manufacturing countries. As of this week, those efforts have led to partial deals with some countries, while others now face new tariffs of between 10% and 40% on exports to the United States.


Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Trump Administration Reignites Criticism of Apple's China Dependence
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/07/07/trump-administration-reignites-apple-criticism/
But Apple did tho.
They make iPhones in Brazil and India now.

Apple is like one of the only ones that actually did move manufacturing, is assembling some computers in the states, just the mac pro?

Why won't trump, I dunno, pick on all the other companies, Apple at least did some movement vs none.
 
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syklee26 said:
I dont agree with Trump much, but he is correct on this one.
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Agreeing with the narcissist of idiocracy is like saying "everything I say is a lie, the next thing I say is the truth." My phones are made in America.

Tim Cook should just start saying all iPhones are made in America, show Dumbo a sticker, and say it over and over again. Repeating lies solves all problems.
 
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Tim knows PERFECTLY well what happens when a product is built onshore. The price triples… and a guitar is just wood, steel, magnets and wire. An iPhone would likely quadruple in price. As a purported billionaire Trump doesn’t care if an iPhone is $800 or $8000. The rest of America, and Apple’s board, does.
 

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jrlcopy said:
But Apple did tho.
They make iPhones in Brazil and India now.

Apple is like one of the only ones that actually did move manufacturing, is assembling some computers in the states, just the mac pro?

Why won't trump, I dunno, pick on all the other companies, Apple at least did some movement vs none.
Click to expand...
That’s exactly correct. I think the best way is to just ban all companies from doing tech business in China. If want to make rubber dog crap, make that in China. India and Brazil require products made locally. Indonesia is doing the same thing. Tariffs are all over the world. Americans just don’t realize it. And, the greed has allowed China to build its entire economy and an amazing infrastructure with the money from Apple. And there are other companies doing tech in China just ban that completely. But don’t do it like the tariffs. State okay, we will make a law that no technology can be made in China or any dictator nations. You have four years to move manufacturing to the free world. You have eight years to move all US sold products to the United States or make the tariffs so high that it’s impossible not to make them in America. With AI, so many jobs are going away, and this would be the opportunity to bring back American industry. Not clothes or rubber containers but tech should never be made in China and so that’s what the US should focus on. Just like they block Huawei, block all from doing business with any tech hardware, software or AI in China.

I love China. It’s a beautiful country, but this system of building it out off slave labor so the top 1% of shareholders can get wealthy is no good. And the money going to build a military capable of overthrowing any other country is the same.
 
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ThailandToo said:
I love China. It’s a beautiful country, but this system of building it out off slave labor so the top 1% of shareholders can get wealthy is no good. And the money going to build a military capable of overthrowing any other country is the same.
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This part of I agree with all corporations doing the slave labor issue. When I saw , I believe it was Foxxcom Apple production factories were locking people into the manufacturing plants when they were producing I believe it at that time the iPhone 14 series during the pandemic it was appalling. Just to get a production of a product out.They had Locked people in. There has to be some humanity, but that’s just an extreme example. If you’re making an argument of 1% of the case, it’s a hell of a lot better than 50%.
 
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What about the Android iPhone knock off garbage phone that Trump and his crime family is trying to sell? Where the hell does that come from? Morons. And all of this is all for show. They don't actually care. Nor will they ever actually care. Making these things in United States needs billions if not trillions in investments into infrastructure, education, and training. You think this administration would even do a percent of that? Please.
 
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