President-elect Trump considers potential Apple manufacturing in US a 'real achievement'
President-elect Donald Trump's full transcript of his interview with the New York Times has been published, and some details about his conversation with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook involving U.S. manufacturing have emerged.
"Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States," recounted Trump to the New York Times about the recent call with the Apple CEO. "Instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you're making your product right here."
According to Trump, Cook's only response was, "I understand that."
"I think we'll create the incentives for you, and I think you're going to do it," added Trump. "We're going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you'll be happy about."
In the portion of the conversation related to Cook and Apple, Trump also pointed to his view that a "choking" overly regulatory environment within the federal government is responsible for a poor start-up climate, and hampers expansion.
"I've met so many people. They are more excited about the regulation cut than about the tax cut," said Trump. "And I would've never said that's possible, because the tax cut's going to be substantial."
Trump added that the reaction to regulatory reduction was surprising to him, and "more enthusiastically supported" than large tax cuts.
Photo: Credit Hiroko Masuike -- The New York Times
"Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States," recounted Trump to the New York Times about the recent call with the Apple CEO. "Instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you're making your product right here."
According to Trump, Cook's only response was, "I understand that."
"I think we'll create the incentives for you, and I think you're going to do it," added Trump. "We're going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you'll be happy about."
In the portion of the conversation related to Cook and Apple, Trump also pointed to his view that a "choking" overly regulatory environment within the federal government is responsible for a poor start-up climate, and hampers expansion.
"I've met so many people. They are more excited about the regulation cut than about the tax cut," said Trump. "And I would've never said that's possible, because the tax cut's going to be substantial."
Trump added that the reaction to regulatory reduction was surprising to him, and "more enthusiastically supported" than large tax cuts.
Comments
I'm sure then it will be fair for Apple to return a favor.
Is Trump going to allow Apple to bring in thousands of foreign workers because there aren't enough in the US? Is he going to create incentives for people in the US to choose these as a career? Will he allow Apple to delay manufacturing until such time that there are enough people in the US trained in the various disciplines required (which would take years)?
This is not something you can do overnight (if you can at all).
So during a conversation about women during whicy he said, "You can do anything. Grab them by the p###y," which words should he have chosen?
When he went past that 14-year-old girl and said to an adviser that he would be dating her in ten years, would it have been better if he said he'd be dating her in twelve years?
About the only things that America can supply to Apple are some of the chips and the glass. Even the CNC-milled aluminum would be far more costly, slow and inflexible, because Asians have been engineering and revising tiny components from aluminum from back in the days of VCRs and video camcorders.
There simply is no infrastructure here, Mein Führer. And iit'll be a waste of money to try to build it now. Like trying to build Boeing airliners in Mexico — we didn't throw that industry away, see?
Americans have to develop what they know best — invention, mental software, based on the stew of stimulation that comes from a mix of people free to think as they like and act on that. Plus loose capital, and a culture of investing in the future.
Bottom line is that Apple cannot "move manufacturing back to the USA" because it doesn't own any manufacturing plants to begin with.
The worst thing about Trump's statement is this one, "Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States," which shows he really doesn't care about supporting the country only getting his "star" on Pennsylvania Ave. The President is supposed to be concerned about the people of the US not themselves. All his other hyperbole shows he's simply going to try and do whatever he can to promote big business, including his own, at the expense of all the citizens, including all those who voted for him.
I'm not saying it can't be profitable to manufacture in the USA, but I think it will always be MORE profitable to manufacture in third/second-world countries. Unless we impose large enough tariffs - but that leads to cries of "protectionism", "trade war", etc.