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Navarro Lambastes Cook Over Slow Shift of iPhone Production From China

His remarks underscore the administration’s strategy of using public criticism in tandem with delayed tariff threats to pressure Apple into domestic assembly.

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Overview

  • Peter Navarro branded Apple’s six-year effort to move iPhone production out of China “the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley” and called it “inconceivable” that assembly remained offshore.
  • The White House pushed back a threatened 25% tariff on non-U.S.-made iPhones to August 1, extending leverage over Apple’s manufacturing decisions.
  • Apple has accelerated iPhone output in India as a hedge against potential U.S. tariffs and to diversify its supply chain.
  • In February, Apple pledged $500 billion for U.S. investments, including AI server assembly, but large-scale iPhone factory development is not yet under way.
  • Supply chain analysts warn that fully relocating iPhone assembly to the U.S. could take years and might triple per-unit costs, highlighting economic barriers to reshoring.