Apple, 500 billion in the US. The White House: it's thanks to the duties

New York — When Apple CEO Tim Cook met with US President Donald Trump at the White House a few days ago, many wondered what was behind it. The answer came yesterday: Apple announced a $500 billion investment plan for the next four years in the US, the largest allocation in its history. And the hiring of 20,000 people in Texas , where it will open a plant to produce servers for Apple Intelligence and new machines, which will push the American company into the challenge of artificial intelligence (AI).

The decision to invest in an ultra-conservative and anti-abortion state that has penalized women did not please the Cupertino giant's fans, but on Wall Street the stock, at mid-session, had risen by more than one point. The twenty thousand promised jobs represent about 12 percent of the company's entire global workforce, and a response to the trade war promised by Trump to the entire world. The hiring will concern the research and development, engineering and production departments. "We are optimistic about the future of American innovation and - explained Cook - we are proud to strengthen our long-standing investments in the United States".

After the meeting with him, the president had anticipated what later emerged: "They will build here - he revealed during the meeting with the governors - instead of doing it abroad, to avoid paying the tariffs". Yesterday, on his social Truth, the president wrote a message in capital letters to thank Cook and Apple, recalling that this investment was born because "they have faith in what we are doing, without us they would not have invested 10 cents". In reality, it is the third time in seven years. In 2018, during Trump's first term, the company had announced an allocation of 350 billion over five years, with the aim of creating - again that time - twenty thousand jobs. Three years later, in 2021, a few months after the start of the Biden administration, the company had spoken of "acceleration" of investments in the States, promising to put 430 billion on the table over five years, for 20 thousand new jobs. Most iPhones, however, are produced by Taiwanese giant Foxconn, which will participate in the construction of the Houston plant.

The announcement comes a month after Trump's announcement to impose 10% duties on all products from China. And the threat of tariffs against Mexico and Canada remains. Cook, according to the tycoon, decided to move production from Mexico to the US precisely to circumvent the tariffs . Foxconn has already invested in the last two years to build factories outside Taiwan, both in Texas and Mexico, where AI components are already assembled. Last year, the Asian giant purchased land north of Houston: the plant will be inaugurated next year. The $500 billion plan also includes the expansion of Apple data centers in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon and Iowa .