Fourteen years after President Barack Obama asked Steve Jobs what it would take to manufacture iPhones in the United States, President Donald Trump is pressing Apple CEO Tim Cook with the same question — but under more aggressive terms.
Trump recently threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Apple and other tech firms unless they move iPhone production stateside.
“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Earlier this month, Cook said most iPhones sold in the U.S. would soon be shipped from India, further distancing Apple’s manufacturing from domestic soil. While the Trump administration sees tariffs as leverage to onshore jobs, analysts and manufacturing experts say relocating iPhone production to the U.S. is logistically and economically unrealistic — at least for now.
Why iPhones Aren’t Made in America
The reasons go far beyond cost. Apple’s global supply chain is centered in China and India, where production facilities have evolved over decades to support the complex, labor-intensive, and highly precise manufacturing process required for iPhones.
“It just fundamentally doesn’t work,” says Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president at Forrester.
Foxconn, Apple’s key assembly partner, employs up to 900,000 workers during peak iPhone seasons. These workers operate in specialized environments — including on-site dormitories and 24-hour assembly shifts — that allow for rapid scalability and last-minute design tweaks, something U.S. factories are currently unequipped to match.
Moreover, many critical iPhone components are still produced in or near China. Even relocating final assembly would still leave Apple dependent on Asian suppliers for displays, batteries, and chips, undermining the strategic goal of supply chain independence.
Labor Shortages and Skills Gaps in the U.S.
The American manufacturing sector has shrunk drastically in recent decades, now employing just 8% of the U.S. workforce, down from 26% in 1970. Moreover, modern manufacturing roles require advanced skills, including robotics, automation, and data analytics — a far cry from traditional factory work.
Cook has acknowledged this gap. In 2017, he described China’s edge as a rare convergence of “craftsman skills, sophisticated robotics, and computer science.” That expertise, he said, is central to Apple’s standards for precision and quality.
Would U.S. Production Raise Prices?
Almost certainly. Analysts suggest tripling the iPhone’s price would be necessary to offset U.S. labor and infrastructure costs. According to Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives, even with Apple’s growing presence in India, around 40% of the iPhone’s production process still occurs in China.
“Making iPhones in the U.S. could triple the price of the device,” Ives warned.
Apple’s U.S. Investments: Not About iPhones
In February, Apple announced a $500 billion U.S. investment plan over four years — but the spending is focused on R&D, server manufacturing, and smart manufacturing education, not smartphone production. Apple’s new Detroit academy, for instance, is intended to help small- and medium-sized businesses, not train workers for iPhone assembly.
Trump has celebrated these announcements, along with Taiwan-based TSMC’s $100 billion U.S. chip expansion, as wins for domestic tech manufacturing. But for iPhones specifically, Apple’s production model still heavily favors Asia.
Could It Happen in the Future?
Some analysts, like Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy, believe partial U.S. production could be feasible within five years — but only with significant design changes to allow for greater automation and fewer labor-intensive steps.
Mohit Kumar, CEO of Ultrahuman, recently moved production of a smart ring to Texas. To make it viable, his company automated labor-intensive steps and cross-trained workers to handle multiple tasks, reducing reliance on specialized labor. But iPhones are far more complex than wearable rings.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged this in April, quoting Cook as saying Apple would need robotic arms and AI-powered systems to match the speed and precision of its Asian facilities.
Walking a Tightrope
Apple is in a delicate position. With Trump pressuring the company and the political climate demanding more domestic manufacturing, Apple must navigate between economic feasibility and political optics.
“You’ve got to walk that fine line, that tightrope, for as long as you can,” said Chatterjee.
While future automation and investment could make limited U.S. iPhone production possible, full-scale domestic manufacturing remains unlikely — not because of unwillingness, but due to deeply entrenched economic, technical, and labor realities that have shaped the global smartphone industry.
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