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03/28/2024 04:42:27 pm

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Apple to Move iPhone Production from China to US: Report

Apple VP Greg Joswiak announces the new iPhone SE during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California.

(Photo : Getty Images) Apple VP Greg Joswiak announces the new iPhone SE during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California.

Apple is reportedly moving its iPhone production from China to US, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asian Review.

The iPhone maker allegedly approached Foxconn and Pegatron, its key assemblers, to conduct a feasibility study of manufacturing its devices in the US instead of China last June.

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"Foxconn complied, while Pegatron declined to formulate such a plan due to cost concerns," a source familiar with the matter told Nikkei.

While it is still an ongoing process, Terry Guo, Foxconn's chairman, is apparently not enthusiastic over cost concerns, as manufacturing iPhones in the US would "more than double" the expense, the source added.

HIS Markit, a research firm, said that while it costs around $225 for Apple to produce an iPhone 7 32GB, its unsubsidized price reaches $649.

The news came after Donald Trump won the presidential election earlier this month. The US president-elect has always been vocal of his goal to push American firms to domesticate their products.

"We're going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries," Trump was quoted saying in a speech he delivered last January.

He also threated to impose a 45 percent import tariff on Chinese goods. However, an opinion piece published in state-backed newspaper Global Times countered the warning, saying if his plans push through, sales of iPhone and other American goods could also suffer.

Meanwhile, Apple, Foxconn, and Pegatron declined to comment about the report. However, Apple has earlier said that other than cost, shifting iPhone production to the US is expertise, CNBC noted.

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