The Financial Times recently published an article titled "Why Trump can't build iPhones in the US," highlighting the challenges of relocating iPhone production to the US. The article emphasizes that Apple's supply chain is a testament to the complexity of modern global manufacturing, making the US government's vision of bringing production back home unfeasible.
The report cites predictions that fully assembling iPhones in the US could raise costs to US$3,500 per unit. However, high labor costs are not the only obstacle. The primary challenge lies in replicating the intricate global supply chain that Apple has developed over decades.
Apple's latest iPhone models consist of approximately 2,700 components sourced from 28 countries and regions. Of these, fewer than 5% are manufactured in the US, including the glass casing and some chips. The majority of components are made in Chinese mainland, with high-tech parts coming from Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Experts argue that the US cannot easily dismantle or replicate the complex network of suppliers that supports Apple's production.
The report highlights how Apple leverages the expertise of multiple countries and regions for specific components, while relying on Chinese supplier clusters as the backbone of its manufacturing. Analysts from Canada-based firm noted that "it is highly unlikely to move iPhone assembly to the US," as the supply chain is deeply entrenched in China.
Although Apple could theoretically find alternative manufacturers for some components, many parts are produced exclusively by specific suppliers. Shifting the production of these parts to the US would require years—or even decades—of investment in automation, tooling, infrastructure, and workforce training.
Encouraging foreign component manufacturers to establish factories in the US would also be a significant challenge. Even if new iPhone assembly plants were built in the US, tariffs imposed by the government would turn construction and production costs into a "nightmare," the report warns.
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