Apple expands 18-year-old iPhone glass deal with Corning in bid to avoid Trump tariffs
For the first time, the cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches will be manufactured in the US, at Corning’s facility in Kentucky
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is using a familiar strategy to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces: expanding existing initiatives to show he supports the president’s “Made in the USA” agenda.
Standing in the Oval Office on Wednesday between Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance, Cook announced that Apple will increase its US investment commitment to US$600 billion over four years – up from the US$500 billion pledged after Trump’s second term victory.
The centrepiece of the expansion is a US$2.5 billion investment into Corning, Apple’s long-time glass supplier. For the first time, the cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches will be manufactured in the US, at Corning’s facility in Kentucky. Though Apple has touted the US roots of iPhone glass before, a portion of that glass was previously made overseas.
“Apple’s been an investor in other countries a little bit. I will not say which ones, but a couple. And they’re coming home,” Trump said when making the announcement. The US$600 billion investment, he said, is “the biggest there is.”
The iPhone maker also discussed increased agreements focused on semiconductor manufacturing, expanding deals with partners like Samsung Electronics, Texas Instruments and Broadcom. Apple is branding the effort the American Manufacturing Program, or AMP.