I still say Apple should announce plans with Foxconn to build a new iPhone assembly site here in the US. Trump can jump up and down and how he beat Apple, and so on.
Possible Timeline 1: By January 2026, a site will be chosen. By July 2027 design work would be complete. By November 2028, structural work is complete. On November 8, 2028, project is cancelled due to unforeseen issues. Building is sold or converted for other uses.
Possible Timeline 2: By January 2026, a site will be chosen and design work begins. January 4, 2027, project scrapped as the new Democratic majority in Congress scraps all of the tariffs.
Possible Timeline 3: By January 2026, a site will be chosen and design work begins. On some random day, the Big Mac from Heaven hits the magic spot; or a random lightning bolt hits an orange target on a golf course... next day, project cancelled.
In short, let him think he's won and just slow walk the thing until he finally does his one truly good deed for humanity- disappears.
Why does Foxconn have to build a new manufacturing facility in the US? They already have plenty of real estate already in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio that is just sitting there unused or at best being used as storage or trivial stuff, like building facemasks. I'm sure reconfiguring the auto assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio to produce iPhones would take a little built of work, but the big Foxconn signs are already in place. I'm sure the UAW would love to put some of their idle members back in the plant turning lots and lots of tiny little screws. That kind of move would turn an already deep red state to scarlet and gray state, with gray matching the hair color of anyone who can claim to have ever worked in a big beautiful manufacturing plant before. Win-win. Could be another golden shovel in there for you know who...
So far, Foxconn arriving in any US location with lots of fancy promises for huge job creation has been like a huge swarm of locusts settling in on a fresh crop of growing wheat or corn. They strip the land of whatever was growing there before and leave a barren landscape in their wake. Foxconn may deliver for Apple in Asia, but in the US their follow through has been absolutely abysmal. If the plan is to promise a US based manufacturing plant in the US with the target customer being Apple, and never actually build the plant - Foxconn is the perfect choice.
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So far, Foxconn arriving in any US location with lots of fancy promises for huge job creation has been like a huge swarm of locusts settling in on a fresh crop of growing wheat or corn. They strip the land of whatever was growing there before and leave a barren landscape in their wake. Foxconn may deliver for Apple in Asia, but in the US their follow through has been absolutely abysmal. If the plan is to promise a US based manufacturing plant in the US with the target customer being Apple, and never actually build the plant - Foxconn is the perfect choice.