• Apple will use chips from Samsung’s Texas plant in future iPhones.
• Company states US investment by $100bn, to $600 bn over four years.

Apple plans to invest another $100 billion in the United States, adding to its efforts to work more closely with local suppliers and stay ahead of trade tariffs on iPhones. The announcement came during a meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Cook handed Trump a 24-carat gold gift and spoke about Apple’s new American Manufacturing Program, which focuses on moving more of the company’s supply chain to the US and boosting domestic manufacturing.

“The President asked us what more we could do,” Cook said. “And we took that challenge very seriously.”

Since Trump returned to office, the Apple CEO has tried to meet some of the administration’s demands – though not all. For instance, Apple still hasn’t agreed to make iPhones in the US, despite a 25% tariff threat from Trump back in May.

Earlier this year, Apple said it would spend $500 billion and hire 20,000 people in the US over four years. It also said it would build a factory in Texas to support its work in artificial intelligence. Similar pledges were made during Trump’s first term and under the Biden administration.

On Wednesday, Cook said Apple was supporting a full semiconductor supply chain in the US, partnering with companies like Broadcom and Amkor. He mentioned new deals with 10 US companies and said Apple would be the first and biggest customer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) Arizona facility. Suppliers are expected to produce 19 billion chips in the US.

Trump used the moment to issue a warning to other tech companies, saying he plans to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made semiconductors unless more manufacturing happens on American soil.

“If you’re building, there will be no charge,” Trump said.

Cook also said Apple will start using glass made in Kentucky by Corning for two of its top-selling products. “For the first time ever, every single new iPhone and every single new Apple Watch sold anywhere in the world will contain cover glass made in Kentucky,” he said.

The devices themselves, however, will still be made outside the US.

Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, said Apple’s move is about staying in good standing with the administration. “I don’t see Apple coming back another six months from now with another $50 billion. This should be enough,” he said.

Despite years of pressure from Trump to shift manufacturing to the US, Apple continues to make most of its products in Asia. China has been Apple’s main manufacturing hub since the early 2000s. While Apple has started shifting some production to Vietnam, Thailand, and India, it hasn’t built any large-scale product operations in the US.

Apple says it supports more than 450,000 jobs in the US through suppliers and partners in the 50 states. But its global supply network still depends on over three million workers, mostly in China. The company’s recent push in India has reportedly upset the US President.

Apple has largely avoided ceding to Trump’s full demands on US production, mostly due to how expensive and difficult it would be to shift its supply chain. One internal study found that the US has fewer manufacturing engineers than China or India and not enough workforce trained to assemble complex products. Moving production to the US would likely drive iPhone prices above $2,000, said Wayne Lam, an analyst at TechInsights.

In May, Trump praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during a trip to Saudi Arabia, noting that Huang had joined the White House delegation — Cook didn’t attend. “Tim Cook isn’t here, but you are,” Trump said to Huang.

Later, in Qatar, Trump added: “I had a little problem with Tim Cook.” While praising Apple’s US investments, Trump said he told Cook, “But now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”

In response to ongoing trade tensions, Apple has tried to reduce the risk of tariffs by shifting manufacturing between countries. But keeping up with constant changes in trade rules has proven difficult.

As part of its new investment push, Apple also said it would source some chips from Samsung’s plant in Texas for upcoming products, including iPhones. “The facility will supply chips that optimise power and performance of Apple products, including iPhone devices,” the company said in a statement. Samsung declined to comment.

The update comes shortly after Tesla signed a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to produce chips for its next-generation AI6 chip. Elon Musk said in July that Samsung’s Texas factory would handle production.

Analyst Pak Yuak from Kiwoom Securities said Samsung’s chip business could begin to narrow its losses by 2026, thanks to expected orders for image sensor chips for the iPhone 18 and additional chips for Tesla.

Apple has made big investment pledges in the past – like the $350 billion promise in 2018 – and said it would build a new campus in a different state, something that hasn’t happened yet. In 2019, Trump toured a Texas factory with Cook and called it a new plant, though it had been operating since 2013. Apple has since moved production from that facility to Thailand.

Many of Apple’s past investment announcements included spending it hsa already planned. Of the $500 billion announced in February, only about $39 billion was new, according to Munster.

“Apple thought they gave the right dosage with $500 billion in February, but this $100 billion is a measurable increase,” he said. He added that the administration is pushing to build a more self-reliant tech supply chain – a process that could take ten years.

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