One of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promises is to make Apple manufacture their iPhone's in America.
This is in line with his make America great again battle cry to bring jobs back to the American people, he stated on numerous occasions that he would make Apple manufacture its iPhones, computers and things in America. Now here is the rub, iPhones were never made in America, to begin with.
Even if Mr. Trump imposes a 45 percent tariff on Chinese-made products, it will not automatically make Apple shift back its entire production to the U.S. It might as well go somewhere else where it would be cheaper, according to Forbes. This tariff not only affects Apple but also a whole lot of business entities who has manufacturing deals with China.
The very thought of Trump forcing Apple to move its manufacturing is a bit of tall tale considering imposing such rulings is beyond the scope of a president's executive power. Trump's imposition to Apple is nothing new, back in 2011 President Obama asked then-CEO Steve Jobs to consider moving iPhone manufacturing to the U.S. Jobs in agreement considered the possibility, unfortunately, such move is not a viable option.
Apple's supply chain for the iPhone is not based in one country alone. It is scattered throughout Asia and that chain has been cemented over decades as consumer electronics continue to evolve. In addition, these supply chains have been lucrative for Apple in their efficiency, Wired reported.
Continuing to press Apple to move its manufacturing in the US would also not come with economic repercussions to the company. The cost outlay for building iPhone facilities alone would run into billions, in addition, the difference in cost of labor would really hit Apple hard.
Producing a high-volume, low-cost device in the US will essentially raise retail prices of the device, which would make the iPhone less appealing to other brand offerings, say, Samsung.
In the instance, Apple does comply and move manufacturing of the iPhone to the US, they would most likely employ robotic technology to assemble their iPhones to combat labor costs. These robots reportedly cost $40,000 each and they won't complain a bit even if they are put to work non-stop for 24 hours at less than a dollar an hour to operate. Assembly wages in the US are about $13 an hour. The jobs promised by the President-elect will be taken over by machines instead of the humans he promised them to.
