The White House said President Trump believes Apple can make iPhones in the USA, even as Apple’s own leaders have said the country lacks the needed workforce, The Guardian reported on April 9, 2025.
What was said
- At an April 8 briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump believes the USA has the labor, workforce and resources to make iPhones.
- She pointed to Apple’s $500 billion USA investment plan as a sign the company thinks the country can do it.
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS that work like “screwing in little screws to make iPhones” would come to the USA, automated and maintained by USA workers.
- Tim Cook told Fortune in 2017 that in the USA “you could have a meeting of tooling engineers, and I’m not sure we could fill the room,” while in China “you could fill multiple football fields.”
- The Guardian said China makes about 85% of iPhones.
“He believes we have the labor, we have the workforce, we have the resources to do it.”
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary
Why it matters for Made in USA
The debate is less about factories than about people. Skilled tooling and process engineers are the bottleneck Apple has named for years. Related: Trump’s later 25% tariff threat on iPhones not made in the USA.
FAQ
What did the White House say?
That Trump believes the USA has the workforce and resources to make iPhones.
What has Apple said?
Tim Cook has said the USA does not have enough tooling engineers for that scale.
Where are most iPhones made?
The Guardian said China makes about 85% of iPhones.
Source & credit
Source: The Guardian, April 9, 2025: “White House insists iPhones will be US-made – but Apple calls it a non-starter”, by Richard Luscombe.