Source: NetEase News
On April 9th, the Trump administration's 104% tariff on China will officially come into effect at midnight in Eastern Time on Wednesday. This move is bound to have a profound impact on Apple and its supply chain. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (Karoline Leavitt) stated earlier this week before the tariff implementation that Trump firmly believes Apple has the ability to relocate its iPhone production lines to the U.S. mainland.
In response to The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman (Maggie Haberman)'s question about what type of jobs Trump hopes to create through these tariffs, Leavitt said: "The president not only wants to increase manufacturing jobs domestically but also pays attention to frontier technology fields. He has confidence in artificial intelligence and other emerging global industries, and is committed to gaining dominance in these fields. Jobs naturally include both traditional manufacturing and advanced technology sectors. The president hopes these jobs can return to the United States."
Haberman then asked whether high-tech industries like iPhone manufacturing are possible to be relocated back to the U.S. Leavitt responded: "(Trump) is convinced that the U.S. has sufficient labor and industrial resources. You know, Apple has promised to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over four years. So if Apple didn't believe in American manufacturing capabilities, they wouldn't invest such a huge amount of money."
Leavitt's remarks referenced Apple's announcement in February this year of its "four-year $500 billion investment plan in the U.S." However, upon closer examination of the plan details, it was found that there is no mention of any plans for assembling iPhones in the U.S. At that time, Apple's announcement focused on R&D of products in the U.S., chip manufacturing in Arizona, AI server production in Houston, development of Apple TV+ content, and the construction of an Apple Developer Academy in Michigan.
It is worth noting that a report published by some media on Tuesday detailed why "U.S.-made iPhones" are pure fantasy.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Tim Cook) had already made a judgment. In an interview in 2015, he once said:
"China has invested tremendous effort in manufacturing, but the U.S. has gradually lost its skilled workforce. For example, you could fit all the mold technicians in the U.S. into the conference room where we are now, while in China, such talents might require several football fields."
Cook also said at the Fortune Forum in 2017: "China has long ceased to be a low-cost labor country and has become reliant on top-notch precision mold technology and the cluster effect of industrial workers. Our products require very advanced processes and high-precision machining technologies, and China's capabilities in these aspects are world-class."
Meanwhile, Apple is currently stockpiling large quantities of iPhone inventory within the U.S. to mitigate the impact of Trump's tariffs. This helps Apple alleviate the effects of tariffs in the short term and temporarily avoid product price increases. (Chen Chen)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/749109157260730890/
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