Republican candidate Donald Trump has promised in a speech that if elected president, he would somehow force Apple to move all its manufacturing operations to the US.
In an address to Liberty University students, Trump suggested he would “get Apple to build their damn computers in this country instead of other countries,” presumably to help create more jobs for Americans. Currently the majority of Apple’s products are manufactured overseas, primarily in China.
There are manifold reasons for this: labor costs, for one, but according to Apple CEO Tim Cook decades of outsourcing has caused China to excel in the vocational skills necessary to do a good job. There’s also the fact that the Chinese market has been growing with incredible speed, now making up a huge portion of Apple’s business. Cook is a vocal supporter of the advancing Chinese economy and wants Apple to be a part of it.
Read more: Apple to plant 1M acres of sustainable forest in China
Trump also suggested a 35% tax on overseas manufacture, despite simultaneously showing support for free trade. As a property-magnate-cum-media-mogul who has benefited massively from free market capitalism, it’s a strange stance – but in fairness it’s far from the craziest thing Trump has suggested as part of his surprisingly successful GOP election campaign. He’s already targeted Mexicans and Muslims – looks as though Apple may be next on the hit list.
Donald Trump wants to force Apple to “build their damn computers” on home soil: https://t.co/dx4JIPlojr
— TapSmart (@TapSmart) January 19, 2016