How Apple is using a familiar strategy to avoid Trump’s tariffs

San Francisco – Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook is using a familiar strategy to stay in President Donald Trump’s good graces: expanding existing initiatives to show he supports the President’s “Made in the USA” agenda.

Standing in the Oval Office on Aug 6 between Mr Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance, Mr Cook announced that Apple will increase its US investment commitment to US$600 billion (S$770 billion) over four years – up from the US$500 billion pledged after Mr Trump’s second-term victory.

A centrepiece of the expansion is a US$2.5 billion investment into Corning, Apple’s long-time glass supplier. For the first time, the cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches will be manufactured in the United States, at Corning’s facility in Kentucky. Though Apple has touted the US roots of iPhone glass before, a portion of that glass was previously made overseas.

The iPhone maker also discussed increased agreements focused on semiconductor manufacturing, expanding deals with partners like Samsung Electronics, Texas Instruments and Broadcom. Apple is branding the effort the American Manufacturing Programme.

In all, the announcements provided just enough evidence that Apple is focusing on America – without forcing it to make major changes. Corning has supplied Apple since the first iPhone in 2007 and Mr Cook has long promoted the iPhone’s American-made glass. What is new is the modestly increased scale.

Apple is pointing to the deals as it seeks relief from looming tariffs. The Trump administration is letting exemptions on smartphone and gadget levies expire and adopting new duties on Indian imports – a potential issue for Apple, which recently shifted US-bound iPhone assembly to India.

Mr Cook even seized on Mr Trump’s famous love of gold. He presented the President with a large, circular Corning glass plaque engraved with the President’s name, mounted in 24K gold. The Apple CEO said that the glass came off an assembly line in Kentucky, while the gold was produced in Utah. He added that a former US Marine who works at Apple designed the plaque.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, announced a major enticement: He said that companies investing in the US – even if the projects are in early stages – will get a break from some tariffs.

“The good news for companies like Apple is, if you’re building in the United States, or have committed to build, there will be no charge,” Mr Trump said.

Apple’s pledges are expected to meet that criteria, even if it is not actually making iPhones and other popular devices in the US. Assembly of the smartphone – a costly and complex process of combining components, testing and boxing devices – will continue in China and, increasingly, India.

That part will stay “elsewhere for a while”, Mr Cook said. But “there’s a lot of content in there from the United States and we’re very proud of it”.

Mr Trump acknowledged that the assembly is “set up in other places and it has been there for a long time”, but he reiterated his desire to bring that stage of production to the US some day. 

“This is a significant step towards the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,” he said. 

Mr Trump’s existing tariffs have already taken a toll on Apple. It said last week that the duties will cost the company about US$1.1 billion in the September quarter. But Apple is looking to avoid incurring further costs, especially as it prepares to unveil the iPhone 17 line in September.

Mr Cook is also likely seeking support from Mr Trump on other fronts: The US Justice Department is suing the company for alleged antitrust violations, and the agency is threatening its US$20 billion search deal with Alphabet’s Google in a separate case. The US government could also potentially help Apple cope with tough new restrictions on the App Store in the European Union. 

This is not the first time that Apple has used US manufacturing announcements to promote Mr Trump’s priorities. In 2019, the company promised to assemble a new Mac Pro in Texas. It was not a big change: Apple had produced the previous model in the state since 2013. But that gesture helped land the company a reprieve from tariffs.

Earlier in 2025, after Mr Trump’s return to office, Mr Cook unveiled the initial US$500 billion commitment – an acceleration of the investments that Apple had begun under former president Joe Biden. At the time, Apple announced it would start making artificial intelligence servers in Houston.

Mr Cook said on Aug 6 the first test units rolled off that factory’s assembly line in July. 

“We’re going to keep building technologies at the heart of our products right here in America,” he said. BLOOMBERG