“Apple can’t seem to avoid the spotlight,” Niraj Chokshi writes for The Washington Post. “Donald Trump singled out the tech giant at the end of a long speech Monday, chastising the company and others for sending business abroad. If that criticism sounds familiar, that’s because it is: Apple found itself under fire for its outsourcing practices during the 2012 presidential campaign.”
“‘We’re going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries,’ the Republican presidential candidate told a crowd at Virginia’s Liberty University on Monday,” Chokshi writes. “Trump’s promise came at the end of a long speech in which Trump vowed to make American businesses pay for moving factories abroad. At one point, he suggested a 35 percent tax on products crossing the border back into America to threaten businesses to stay, though he almost immediately added: ‘I don’t want to do that because I’m a free-trader.'”
“Trump is consistent in criticizing Apple. In a video posted to his blog after Obama’s 2012 State of the Union speech, Trump cited outsourcing as his only complaint about the company,” Chokshi writes. “‘The only thing I don’t like about Apple, and you can’t say much, is that why don’t they make their product here?’ he asked. ‘When you think of Apple, you think of nothing but good. But the bad thing is their products are made in China for the most part. Wouldn’t it be great and wouldn’t it be a great story if they could start making their products in the U.S.A.?'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, the United States does not have the infrastructure or the labor force required to support the assembly of 100+ million iPhones per year, not to mention the manufacture of disparate iPhone components.
“Those jobs aren’t coming back.” – Steve Jobs, February 2011, when asked by U.S. President Barack Obama why iPhones aren’t made in America
“We sell iPhones in over a hundred countries. We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.” — Anonymous Apple executive, January 2012
“The entire supply chain is in China now. You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That’s the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours. — Anonymous former Apple executive, January 2012
SEE ALSO:
Trump could cost U.S. consumers $6 billion per year by imposing a 35% tariff on Apple iPhone – January 19, 2016
Trump: We’ll get Apple to manufacture ‘their damn computers and things’ in the U.S.A. – January 18, 2016
Robots, not people, led Apple to make new Mac Pro in the U.S.A. – January 21, 2014
Former Reagan staffer: Apple has an obligation to help solve America’s problems – April 3, 2012
The Mac Pro is made in the US. That’s just the begaining… Go back listen to Tim Cook talk about building the Mac Pro.
Get use to saying President Trump!
President trump, no way in hell. The man has been married 3 or 4 times. That should tell you about man’s ability to commit. He his none. The latest chick he is married to is starting to show her age, that means she is on her way out, soon.
Think for yourself, one time married then divorced the people can blame each other. Twice divorced they both have to accept the blame. Third time divorced, come on, it’s you! The forth time, the one who marries you is a fool.
The deals trump knows how to make is glad hand some simple minded fool, that wants a few bucks.
That show of his was the king and the court jesters(fools), why in the hell would anybody think there was value in that crap he had them do. Any of the bull he had them do lead to multi-million dollar projects. No! HELL NO! The guy is New York’s biggest clown. Damn shame he’s not funny. We all could enjoy the clown’s jokes.
Please, tell us your candidate so we can rip him/her to shreds…as if being negative or pessimistic requires and skill, talent, or thought.
The root of the issue, according to trump, is to make America great again. Assuming that America was is not as great as it once was, it would be logical to revert back to the “things” that once made it great.
I question your maturity…attacking him personally rather than the substance of what he was saying…what he’s trying to do and why. And why so many people up voting your off-topic “comment”.
Talk issues; everyone has faults or perceived faults. No skill in being a critic.
Regarding: “Get use to saying President Trump!”
I have already come to accepted it and have been training for it. Several times a day I run around the house shouting “Jesus Christ!, Jesus Christ!”
FUNNY!!!!
Same when Justin Trudeau became PM here in Canada.
Oh Fffff Oh Ffff oh Fffff.
Margret Thatcher rules in a democratic way that still held a strong almost iron first. Democratcy in the US has become far too thin, too fair, too double sided, weak. Donald Trump shall bring some fear back into the country and countries whom feel they can just pee all over America. Times are hard, stop pretending – serious change needs to happen and only Trump is willing to take that risk. No matter how insane it sounds and may be… its time for Trump to lead.
Why would you waste time rebutting what this clown us saying? He is making shit up as he goes along.
Indeed, it as if Trump does not realize that the bulk of computer component manufacturing and product assembly moved out of the United States decades ago. Is is Apple’s responsibility to rebuild the entire manufacturing infrastructure that our government (both parties) encouraged to leave the country because of stupid policies. Those policies just sealed the offshoring trend started by the corporate focus on profits at the expense of workers,
yeah! lets have those policies reversed so that the people of the good ol’ US of A are polluted like all the third world countries instead !
YEA! FREE TRADE AND FREE ENTERPRISE AND YEY! DAMN THE TORPEDOES! FULL STEAM AHEAD!
My post was brief and, therefore, lacked detail. I want to be clear that I support the clean air and clean water acts. It is possible to be both environmentally responsible and profitable while also treating workers with respect.
Sure, however, companies fled to Asian long before the governments imposed cleaner air and water… companies of today and before them since the industrial age and before that — have all gone there for cheap labour and higher profits. PERIOD
Another brilliant comment showing why he’s wrong.
Someone wants to “make America great again” by bringing manufacturing and wealth back to America and you can’t get out of the way of your own ignorant bias.
China has created a lot of wealth by manufacturing, so why is it a bad idea to want to increase manufacturing?
Be an adult and discuss the issues.
I hope you are watching what is going on in the Chinese Stock Market kerfluffle and China’s overbuilding that is catching up to them.
…so keep outsourcing to China?
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I haven’t seen one rational comment about why the USA should get back into manufacturing.
We’re only in the middle of a 30-year low in labor participation. Some politicians think that cradle to have is a good plan and a lot of misguided Americans have bought into it. That is not how American became great.
Shouldnt get back into*
Most of the reason we’re at a 30-year-low in labor participation has to do with the retirement of the first wave of baby boomers, who turned five years ago.
Yes, the loss of manufacturing jobs to low-wage countries has been a disaster (and BOTH political parties share the blame for that), but demographics plays a MUCH greater role. Despite what Drudge and CNS love to report each month.
Actually, Trump has a great idea here. Let’s put all those liberal arts graduates who didn’t want to handle the stress of an engineering or science degree in college on the assembly line.
We can have an arts history major inserting a single screw onto the circuit board a thousand times a day. Next to her can be a religious studies major soldering a single wire onto a board a thousand times a day. Etc. Etc.
And these fools thought they didn’t need to learn math and science in college.
But, but, what about Disney World, all the actors would have to learn to solder.
Remember your snide denigrating comment the next time you indulge in any entertainment of any kind.
Do you really think that humans should be content to just make electronics and eat gruel all day?
If you are daft enough to think there is no need for arts or cultural development, or that people have the innate desire to leave emotional imprints on their fellow man through plays, literature, music, and even cuisine — well, you are truly a piece of work.
If in your twisted head you think artists are just disposable liberal dregs of society that are worth even less than the child laborers who assembly your disposable electronics, you need a serious attitude readjustment. Call me, I would be happy to give you a few minutes of personal psychological re-tooling.
Paul, you have obviously spent too much time in your parents basement. You need a little fresh air and you need to learn to chill out.
First, I did not mention performing arts majors. That was an intentional omission, because I highly value talented people who dance, write/play music, film, and provide entertainment to others.
What I don’t place much value on are students who spent 4+ years in college, typically using student loans, learning subjects that are useless to their future employability. You and I will eventually be paying for their defaulted government-backed student loans and providing government support for these people for a long time.
So why don’t you got back to serving tables now and I’ll go back to building real stuff that people live and work with.
That’s some juvenile posturing there.
There’s a wealth of stuff to refute, but it’s probably not worth it. I really hope you can find it in your heart to not arbitrate what other people should pursue for happiness.
The problem with such claims is that the ROI for even technical degrees has gone by the wayside.
Case in point, a ‘good’ Engineering job will pay around $90K/year, but that’s only 3x the hourly wage of a $15/hr burger flipper (unskilled worker) … but that’s a disturbingly huge decline in “Return on Investment” (ROI) for the time/cost of an Engineering degree from where things stood a couple of decades ago … back then, an Engineer would reliably expect to earn 10x the pay of an unskilled worker.
To put this into perspective, a technical degree graduate would need to earn $200K+ after five years applied professional experience – – good luck with that.
Similarly, the pay for trades like Tool Setters … something that Tim Cook commented on fairly recently as being in short supply in the USA vs China … it is yet another example of too few people in the field because of relatively poor pay. If a company were to advertise a Tool Setter job paying $100K/year, they could have a 1000 of them hired by the end of next month. It is simply the old “Follow The Money” in the other direction –> no money, no followers.
You don’t need math and science to work on an assembly line. You don’t need a college degree of any kind. Pretty sure you barely need a high school education.
Do you think the millions of young factory workers in China are all engineers? Sheez.
I sort of remember Jobs trying to explain to Obama that the US needed thousands more skilled tool and die type workers – not necessarily 4 yr degrees engineers but 2 year trade skilled – sort of in between
But our macro-economic policy approach in the 80s emphasized banking, and did away with trade skills, and outsourced
Now it’s way late
Spot on, engineering has become in may people’s eyes simply a blue collar job and it increasingly has been given little value by the powers that be far cheaper to import those that you need rather than countenance the expense or encouragement to those growing up in your own country. So while there is the elite being produced there are fewer and fewer in the layers below as those coming in are now equally likely to get a job elsewhere in the World where they are often better appreciated for their skills. This is classic short-termism at work.
Answer: Robotics.
Hell, why don’t we ask kids in elementary school what they’re interested in and if any of these pop up, just put ’em to work then?
What’s the dollar cutoff for someone to be “useless”? $25,000?
Someone doesn’t have to be making $100k or more to be useful to society.
Not so easy…. Get the infrastucture and skill set back first !! I doubt its even possible.. Its a different world now.
US of A.. You have been blindly exporting those for decades now.. Not much is left here in USA
Trump is an uncomfortable wakeup call to all the libs who thought we were going to rescue them from dumbassdom. Its over, buddy. Trump most probably will be the new boss. He is going to dismantle dumbass Obama’s failed legacy, and reintroduce reality to the USA. You listen up now Cook …. your time is over and done with. You tried to be a fake Jobs, you tried to sell us on queerdom, and you are a fake. Its over. Trump is going clean up the USA the hard way. Bring it!
Idiot
No way Trump will be nominated. He’s only leading the republicans because the vote is so fractured. Once Bush or Rubio or Cruz drop out, his lead will go away.
You are an uncomfortable wake up call to goad liberals into war on narrowed minded bigots and douche bags like yourself.
Steve Jobs chose Tim Cook as his replacement.
Why aren’t you calling Steve a queer loving liberal pussy?
3.5 stars on your comment is enough to boycott macdaily news for attracting moronic impotent right wing nut cases en mass faster than Trump’s web site can!
There doesn’t seem to be much of an upside of being an Apple shareholder anymore. Everyone seems to be be gunning to take Apple down. Everyone knows they can say anything they want about the company and get away with it and never meet any opposition. Electronics have been outsourced since the end of World War II and suddenly people see Apple as the big problem in terms of outsourcing. There probably aren’t any clothes Americans wear that have been made within this country but I don’t see Trump going after clothing design firms. It appears Apple’s share price is going to remain range bound for all of 2016 no matter what Apple does in terms of sales. There’s something very wrong with Apple when it can no longer attract big investors but only attract negative attention. It appears Apple has very poor management when shareholders are left totally unprotected. There are currently a number of companies shedding employees left and right and they’re not getting crapped on like Apple is.
I’d done some assembly work for a couple of summers under some pretty nasty conditions and I can tell you it’s very tedious and unappreciated work. You’re always under the gun and unless you can put your mind in some other place you’ll go crazy if you have any ability to think at all. Trump is crazy if he thinks he can bring high-production assembly back to America and hoping he can put lots of people to work for low wages. Most Americans aren’t like the Chinese workers who maybe don’t know any better.
I don’t know why Apple always has to end up as the center of some controversy when there are plenty of other companies in the same position as Apple in terms of overseas production and assembly.
Becouase apple is the most famous and successful one ..
This cycle of fud has akways been there …. Lets see how this one rolls out ?
This shows the block-heading thinking that partisanship engenders.
Trump, showing desperation, is now courting partisans to his side. Despite having no evangelical leandings whatsoever, Trump is courting them because for some unknown reason today the most religious people tend to vote conservatively. They ignore that fact that Jesus was just about the most radically liberal leader of all time.
So now Trump and his friends attack Apple. Why? because Apple was founded and is led by a liberal management team, therefore everyone associated with Apple must be branded bad and deingrated.
People aren’t even looking at issues or the factual nuances in the world. The sheeple blindly follow labels. So now we can all expect to be attacked by conservatives for daring to use “liberal” computers.
Partisanship is pathetic. It is a sign of inadequate rational thought and the willingness to halt all progress toward your own goals in order to prevent the other team from making any progress of any kind. Meeting halfway is what independents do. Try it sometime.
Actually, you’d be surprised by how many conservatives use Macs. As you can probably tell, we don’t care for change. The Mac User Interface hasn’t changed much in the past ten or 20 years. With Windows, the User Interface changes with each new version.
You don’t like partisanship but use broad strokes to describe them, lol. The liberal computer comment..priceless. Binary thought..black or white, my team or your team…that narrow minded simple way of thinking IS the problem.
Jesus is no liberal. He subscribes to the belief “he who does not work, neither shall he eat.” He is a social and fiscal conservative. Even His service towards the less fortunate was voluntary, not required. Our blessings come from volunteering to support others, not by complying with a requirement to support others. Don’t steal my opportunity for blessing.
“the United States does not have the infrastructure or the labor force required to support the assembly of 100+ million iPhones per year, not to mention the manufacture of disparate iPhone components.”
It used to have the infrastructure. But then it was dismantled to make it harder to manufacture here. Also, we have the workforce: Everyone who’s either unemployed or underemployed.
“It used to have the infrastructure. But then it was dismantled to make it harder to manufacture here. Also, we have the workforce: Everyone who’s either unemployed or underemployed.”
No dear, it was dismantled because people won’t accept to get less for more money. This this a logical consequence of a consumer society: “We want all for nothing”. iPhone is already out of reach to many, however the richness still exists at those which benefit from the working poors around the world can afford to buy lots of similar stuff. But, in order to maintain the frenzy of compulsive purchases, it is inevitable to delocalize. One day, this all has to fire back.
GTFO of america!
The promised land is only promising to eat you back if you are too successfull… Anythingate, fud, Wall Street and then Trump…
Wow, murica is rotting. There is nothing we can do…
Rot in peace…
There’s one, simple reason that mobile phone (as well as a large section of traditional computer) manufacturing and assembly is never going to come back to the United States: Rare Earth Minerals. Most of the rare earth minerals that are used in mobile handset manufacturing are located in China. China has severely restricted the exports of these minerals so as to keep the processing, manufacturing, and assembly jobs within its borders. In order to bring those manufacturing and assembly jobs back to the US, we’d have to develop alternative materials and solutions for technology that d not require these minerals, and thus can be produced in other countries. Until that happens, all the job skills training, political will, and protectionist tariffs will never be able to move those jobs back here. The real ignorance on display here- by both parties- is in ignoring simple reality.
I’m sure Trump will be able to force Apple to bring back all their manufacturing to the United States right after he forces Mexico to pay for the Great Wall of Texas.
Trump is a joke, not a serious candidate for the most powerful office in the world. Incredibly, he’s managed to top the polls without actually ever saying what he will do, only that it’ll be great. Can’t wait for the GOP Convention this summer. It’s gonna be must-see-TV!
I wonder why Trump does not practice what he preaches. His ties and clothing line is made primarily in China.
The look on his face when Letterman called him on that is priceless.
This coming from the clown that outsources the manufacturing of all his clothing lines. He’s a clown and so is anyone that supports him for the presidency.
Trump’s new Chicago high rise is clad in a Chinese curtain wall glazing system instead of USA Pittsburg PPG Glass system because that was too expensive for the boy billionaire…Hypocrite.
Even Donald Trump will be a far better president for American than Barack Hussein Obama.
Tim cook should say this to The Donald:
Donald should sell all his holdings, hotels, casinos etc and invest it all in Apple Stock for a fix term say 10 years and Apple will build factories in USA for the USA market.
if Donald is RIGHT then he can’t lose investing in apple correct? So he should be all for it.
Never mind the fact that the president does not have this kind of authority. This is Trump pandering to the crowd.
Well stated Howie. True.
However, as mentioned, the government can impose tariffs on imports of components etc. which can effect how business is done and where.
Right, but that’s the power of Congress, NOT the president. Of course Dictator Obama would disagree, but he’s still wrong.
“Dictator”? Oh please. Usually you make a lot more sense than that.
My wife was born in a country (Argentina) that has had REAL dictators. People who think America is oppressive — or that ANY of our Presidents act like tyrants — have no idea how lucky they (and we) have it here.
I stand by what I said. Don’t like it? Tough. Deal with it.
It’s not like I didn’t like what you said. It’s just that what you said was incredibly uninformed. Deal with it.
And I still stand by what I said. You obviously can’t accept that, which is why you keep replying to me. Have a nice day.
Not all of Apple’s computers are manufactured overseas, but in China, Dell and Apple use the same factory.
The United States doesn’t have enough civil engineers to build a large enough factory. Because of its huge population, China does. If politicians want to move manufacturing to the United States, they have to invest in education. That’s a real problem for conservatives who want to cut spending on education and get good results anyway.
Apple spaceship campus is an example, taking far too long to build and yet some how is being done. Not enough civil engineers? Are you sure, or is it more likely not enough pay?
Wonder why he doesn’t lambaste every electronics manufacturer that has stuff made in China, Taiwan or somewhere else in Asia?
I don’t have to target Donald-The-Clown to point out that the current presidential candidates are HORRIFIC!
To hell with both worthless political parties.
Do you get out and vote?
And before I replied to your comment, I voted five stars to you.
We can agree that both political parties are horrific… yet do you get out and vote?
Yes I do Mr. Dump. Have no worries, SIR! (^_^)/
Seriously, Apple has enough money, that there is no reason why, it can not invest in creating a total robotic assembly line and factory here in the USA to produce its devices without that many humans operating it. It can proceed its own parts, screws etc. and import components needed. That will eliminate secrets being leaked and coping by Samsung. If the world has not noticed, Singapore, China and other Asian cities have greatly profited by America’s outsourcing. Its the workers who have not so. Nevertheless, money does go to them all… not us here in the USofA. When you are hungry and have bills to pay, when you are out of work… you need to survive some how… there is only so many McDonalds and so many Walmarts to help. And the younger people too need to start at doing something. If asian farmers daughters can be trained to work the assembly lines so can Americans. Failing to see all this… is a failure to America and the land will fall. Good luck without an insane risk taking leader.
All you need to know about Donald trump in one photo
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=trump+ties+made+in+china&biw=1280&bih=915&tbm=isch&imgil=ejVImKSekqEFkM%253A%253BLJtY4q14cRepFM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fabcnews.go.com%25252FBusiness%25252Fdonald-trump-sells-chinese-goods-accusing-china-stealing%25252Fstory%25253Fid%2525253D31826791&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ejVImKSekqEFkM%253A%252CLJtY4q14cRepFM%252C_&ved=0ahUKEwiPn63NzrnKAhUG2qYKHe4IA-QQyjcILQ&ei=qSGgVs-mOYa0mwXukYygDg#imgrc=ejVImKSekqEFkM%3A
and this photo
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=trump+ties+made+in+china&biw=1280&bih=915&tbm=isch&imgil=ejVImKSekqEFkM%253A%253BLJtY4q14cRepFM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fabcnews.go.com%25252FBusiness%25252Fdonald-trump-sells-chinese-goods-accusing-china-stealing%25252Fstory%25253Fid%2525253D31826791&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ejVImKSekqEFkM%253A%252CLJtY4q14cRepFM%252C_&ved=0ahUKEwiPn63NzrnKAhUG2qYKHe4IA-QQyjcILQ&ei=qSGgVs-mOYa0mwXukYygDg#imgrc=dNqqCirjc7qGiM%3A