Trump to Apple: Make the iPhone in the U.S., not China

mashable.com ^ | 01/04/2019 | Matt Binder

[BenLurkin]

“Apple is a great company," Trump said during his news conference. "Look, I have to worry about our country. Don't forget, Apple makes the product in China."

“I told Tim Cook, who's a friend of mine who I like a lot, make your product in the United States," Trump added. "Build those big beautiful plants that go on for miles. Build those plants in the United States. I'd like that even better. Apple makes its product in China. China is the biggest beneficiary of Apple ... because they build their product mostly in China.”

Trump, who is notably an iPhone user, does appear to be a fan of Apple. While it's unclear whether Cook also considers him a friend, Trump has made it clear that he likes the Apple CEO.

Apple publicly warned last year that Trump’s tariffs on China would increase the price of its products. The Trump administration responded by exempting Apple products from the tariffs. Still, the threat of retaliation from China against Apple due to Trump’s trade war lingers in the air.

Trump, however, wasn’t finished with his Apple comments. “But now, [Cook is] investing $350 billion — because of what we did with taxes and the incentives that we created — in the United States, "Trump said. "He’s going to build a campus and lots of other places.”

“My focus is the United States," he added. "I want to get those companies to come back like so many are doing into the United States. I want Apple to make their iPhones and all of the great things that they make in the United States and that will take place.”

[dhs12345]

An iPhone is a very high volume assembly and automation is a necessity. But you would have only one product or very similar products so automation would be beneficial.

The circuit board assembly is a known quantity and can be automated but you would need several lines.

The challenge would be the enclosure assembly which might have to be done manually but with lots of assemblers... unless you could automate that too.

If you have ever taken an iPhone apart, it is a complicated mechanical assembly that almost necessitates a human being. But maybe this can be automated?

And then there is the supply chain — massive number of parts and lots of money invested to keep the line moving.

Also, the factory would have to be dedicated to this one product. No diversity.