Donald Trump e Tim Cook side by side at the White House. In the background, American flags and a familiar slogan: “America First.” This is the stage chosen to announce the new maxi-investment di 100 billion dollars and Apple will be carried out on US soilA move that, according to Bloomberg, represents a strategic response to the White House's protectionist offensive.
taylor rogers, spokesman for the administration, did not mince his words: “Another victory for our manufacturing industryThis announcement will help bring critical component manufacturing back to the United States, protecting the economy and national security.”
Apple bows to Trump
The decision comes after months of tension between the tech giant and the president, culminating in the Trump's explicit threat: duties up to 25% off all Apple products, including iPhones, if the company had not moved some production home.
Cook, well aware of the impact such a measure would have on margins and consumer prices, has chosen the path of cooperation. And it has done so by focusing on a investment package which, according to official sources, will bring the company's overall commitment in America to 600 billion dollars in four years. The agreement includes a new server factory in Houston, a supplier academy in Michigan and strengthened spending with U.S. partners.
The Price of Peace: Selective Reshoring
But is this really a comeback for American manufacturing? Not exactly. According to analysts at Bloomberg intelligence, Apple will not move mass production from Asian plants. “The focus will be on high-end products, AI labs and semiconductor engineering, not on cheap phones or accessories,” explain Anurag Rana and Andrew Girard.
Cook himself, in a conference call with analysts after the results, admitted: “Most iPhones sold in the US are assembled in India, while MacBooks, iPads and Apple Watches come from Vietnam. We try to optimize the supply chain, but we will do more in the United States.”
The agreement with Apple is the latest case of President Trump's strategy, which aims to use industrial investments as a lever for foreign and economic policy. After the $100 billion plan for artificial intelligence signed with Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI, the White House has already promised new agreements with Nvidia (up to 500 billion in AI chips) and geopolitical agreements such as the 750 billion energy pact with the EU or the bottom 550 billion Japanese for investments in the USA.
Apple, meanwhile, hopes for an exemption from future tariffs on semiconductor products, which Trump could introduce as early as next week. A déjà vu: already in his first term, Cook managed to obtain tax carve-outs for Apple products. Will he be able to do it again this time?
The stock soars on the stock exchange, but doubts remain
Meanwhile, Wall Street approves. Apple shares rose as much as 3,6% yesterday, the sharpest rise in three months. But behind the investor euphoria, substantial questions remain about whether this deal represents a true industrial breakthrough or is simply a clever compromise between business and political power.
In Washington the agreement is being celebrated as "another victory for America", but it remains to be seen how much of this investment will translate into lasting jobs and actual production, and how many will be limited to pilot projects, research centers or representative initiatives.
