On Monday, February 24, Apple announced its intention to invest $500 billion over the next four years to expand facilities in the United States.
As part of the mentioned solution, which has both a financial and a specific material dimension, the specified technology giant, based in Cupertino, California, seeks to avoid the negative consequences associated with the imposition by the United States of new tariffs on goods imported from China. In a sense, the investments announced by Apple are a landmark example of how US companies in the plane of applied actions are beginning to respond to Washington’s economic policy towards other capitals in the context of the current paradigm of geopolitical tension, which continues to be a process that is being implemented on an upward trajectory.
It is worth noting that many firms from the United States are closely tied with Asia, in particular with China, not only as a market for the sale of their products but also as a manufacturing center. Against the background of the ongoing increase in tensions between Washington and Beijing, US companies are likely to have to diversify their production facilities. In this case, first of all, it implies a kind of production rotation aimed at transferring corresponding sites outside of China. Many companies are interested in maintaining their trading and manufacturing presence in Asia. In the context of this logic of thinking, firms consider India and, less often, Vietnam as alternatives to China in the status of a production center. Asia continues to be a promising space, despite the geopolitical tensions and its various consequences, which are sources of sensitive impact. This region has potential as a market and as a kind of technological development environment. One example of United States companies’ interest in Asia is Microsoft’s announced intention last month to spend $3 billion to expand its Azure cloud and artificial intelligence capacity in India. At the same time, against the background of tensions between Washington and Beijing, which have, among other things, a financial and technological dimension, US firms are likely to step up efforts in the domestic market. In this case, first of all, it implies efforts related to the development of production infrastructure. Apple’s intentions announced on Monday are the first signal in favor of implementing the mentioned assumption in a practical plane.
The mentioned company stated that its financial injections will create 20,000 jobs.
In the current month, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced 10% tariffs on all goods imported from China. For Apple, the corresponding measure of Washington’s trade policy is a factor of sensitive negative impact. The technology giant imports many products from the Asian country, including most of its iPhones.
It’s worth mentioning that Donald Trump signaled Apple’s investments in the United States on Friday, February 21. He made the corresponding statement after a meeting with Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive officer, held a day earlier. Donald Trump said that the financial injections from the technology giant are related to Washington’s tariff policy.
Moreover, the US president, noted last week that investments in the country will also be made by other companies, including chip manufacturers and automakers.
In recent years, Apple has made financial injections into expanding its supply chain beyond China. In part, these actions by the technology giant were related to production problems in the Asian country during the coronavirus pandemic.
The investments announced by the company on Monday include the construction of a production facility for Mac Pro computers in Texas.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which makes chips for Apple, is also set to open a microcircuits production plant in Arizona, helped by $6.6 billion in financial support. The mentioned support was implemented as part of a bipartisan bill passed under the administration of former United States President Joe Biden to encourage funds for chip manufacturing in the US.
At the same time, Apple has expanded production sites mainly in countries such as India and Vietnam. Tim Cook stated that the company is bullish on the future of American innovation, and is proud to build on its long-standing US investments with a $500 billion commitment to the country’s future.
Donald Trump thanked the head of Apple and the technology giant as a whole for financial injections announced on Monday. The message of the corresponding content is published on the virtual platform Truth Social. Also, in this case, Donald Trump took credit for the decision.
Apple made a similar statement about spending in the United States in 2018, during Mr. Trump’s first term as president. At that time, the company said that its new and ongoing investments would contribute $350 billion to the US economy over five years.
It is worth noting that Apple is not engaged in its own production, using contractors. The technology giant said it will work with thousands of manufacturing partners in all 50 states to make more products at US facilities.
The company also noted that as part of the investment, an academy will be established in Detroit to train small- and medium-sized businesses on implementing artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing techniques.
The technology giant said that its partners will begin production of servers in Houston by the end of the current year that will support Apple Intelligence, the firm’s brand of machine intelligence products.
The company has revealed that a 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing plant, scheduled to open next year, will create thousands of jobs. The technology giant also stated that the mentioned products, which were manufactured outside the United States in the past, are a core of its efforts in the area of artificial intelligence. Separately, it was noted that the servers are the result of many years of research and development by Apple engineers.
Not all of the investments announced by the technology giant on Monday will be directed to the production of computer hardware. The company will use some of these financial injections to expand the capacity of data centers in North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada. The technology giant also plans to invest in corporate facilities and the production of Apple TV+ shows in 20 states.
Moreover, the company announced the intention to increase its Advanced Manufacturing Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion. Part of this expansion will be Apple’s multibillion-dollar commitment to produce advanced silicon at the TSMC plant in Arizona.
Amid news of financial injections into the United States, the value of the technology giant’s shares rose by less than 1% in New York.
Currently, the US is interested in strengthening its technological sovereignty. In this context, localization of production processes in the country is essential. If other companies follow Apple’s experience and also make significant financial injections into the United States, this is guaranteed to strengthen the countries’ technological sovereignty during a period of continued rising geopolitical tensions.
