After months of reports surrounding iPhone manufacturers like Pegatron and Foxconn potentially moving Apple device construction to the United States, Pegatron CEO Syh-Jang Liao this week commented that the company could build iPhones and iPads in the U.S. on the condition that its client, Apple, is ready to pay for the costs of moving manufacturing stateside (via Focus Taiwan).

Liao was responding directly to questions asked about President Donald Trump's request for American brands to keep their manufacturing in the U.S. In the wake of Trump's presidential win, months of reports have covered speculation about whether or not Apple suppliers could, or should, move production into the U.S. For Pegatron, if such a Trump initiative came into being, the company CEO said that it "already has its production lines in place."

iphone display

"As long as there is demand, whether the clients are American or Chinese, Pegatron already has its production lines in place," Liao said. "If Trump institutes his Made in America proposal, it will be fine for Pegatron as long the client is willing to absorb the costs."

Just last week, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou raised concerns over the manufacturer's shift of iPhone production to the U.S. In his comments, he cited concern over whether or not the U.S. government could keep up with the regulations and laws needed to be passed before Foxconn would be able to build major iPhone plants in the country. Echoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, Gou also mentioned that the U.S. lacks the skilled labor needed for these plants to thrive.

In recent Apple-related Pegatron rumors, the manufacturer was suggested as to be the exclusive supplier of the 2017 iPhone 8's wireless charger. Along with an edge-to-edge OLED display, wireless charging is rumored to be one of the major selling points of the iPhone 8, in comparison to the more basic "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus." Pegatron will also help produce this year's upcoming iPhone, alongside Foxconn and reportedly Wistron.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Kaibelf Avatar
106 months ago
it's tough to compete with factory work when other nations will pay 7 cents a day for their work force.
iPhone manufacturing at Foxconn pays something more like $2.50 per hour, or about 285x what you claim. Let's not look for the absolutely lowest pay that exists on the planet and apply it to every job in every industry. Also, let's not claim that these jobs, with the exchange rate and rental rates that aren't anything like San Jose, CA are "slave wages." It would be wonderful if every place in the world had comfortable, big homes for everyone with two-car garages, but that's not the case. Still, that's no excuse to overtly lie to make a point.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
106 months ago
Translation: "if the US taxpayers will absorb the costs via Trump incentives".
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FactVsOpinion Avatar
106 months ago
As it becomes more and more automated, the cost of labor will be less and less prohibitive. A factory full of robots is eventually just as viable in the US as it is in China.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
106 months ago
Except these factory jobs are likely to require skilled technicians and engineers to run a highly complex automated factory, not workers on a production line of assembling phones. The shop floor workers will most likely do some minor assembly but it won't be a return to the old days where lots of workers churned out product. Besides cost production volume requirements will drive automation to avoid issues like plagued the Mac Pro where the production line couldn't meet demand.

US manufacturing's future is high tech automated production operated by skilled staff with minimal human work on the line; except for possibly high end expensive or custom items where production costs are much less of the final price. As much as many people believe factory jobs like in the 50's and 60's will come back it isn't going to happen; especially since consumers don't want to pay the premium.
50's and 60's? We had manufacturing jobs here aplenty as late as the 90's. We are still hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs. There are articles describing in painful detail recent accounts of workers being asked to train the foreign replacements who will be taking their jobs when factories are relocated to other countries.

Meanwhile, I've been reading article after article on my Apple Newsfeed about my generation and younger dying off due to drug use. There was an article yesterday about how police are having to become social workers in a sense, to deal with the explosive drug problem in many areas of the country. I don't think that the loss of jobs and the growing drug problem are unrelated, given that the problems seem worse in former industrial towns.

I'm the daughter of an Asian immigrant, but that immigrant (now a citizen) raised me to "be American and buy American" when feasible. I've kept to cars manufactured right here in the US. And while I have done my fair share of complaining about the rising costs of iPhones, I would feel happy to buy one at a premium that was made in my country. Providing that the quality is up to standard and the NSA doesn't load it up with spyware ala Cisco ;) : https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140518/17433327281/cisco-goes-straight-to-president-to-complain-about-nsa-intercepting-its-hardware.shtml
o_O

I can't ever say I'm always thrilled with our government, especially the part of it that is not elected and beyond any checks and balances on its power and reach. But I do care about my fellow citizens and our problems. I care about other parts of the world, too, but it's easier to start with the problems in your own backyard. And it's possible to sometimes address both.

I'm older and at a place in life where I can do this. I might not always be. And it certainly would have been a financial hardship when I was in my thirties and younger. So I am understanding that this is not an appealing idea to a lot of people or to Apple. I'm just speaking for myself here, of what I'd like to see and be able to do. An ideal. But I know we don't live in a world where ideals can always be realized. It is what it is.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
s2mikey Avatar
106 months ago
So, no iPhone manufacturing in the US.

Sorry American workers: you priced yourself out of this industry.
Yeah OR corporate greed and miserable, whiny shareholders who are never happy "priced" it out of the industry. Why do companies have to be such cheap bastards? C'mon, pay people well and much of it comes back via extra spending. Apple tends to be a bleeding heart company when it comes to social issues so Im shocked they arent more keen on "sharing" profits via higher wages. Guess their "bleeding heart" agenda only applies to transgender bathroom & sexuality issues. Great.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dominiongamma Avatar
106 months ago
If it raises the price of the iPhone no thanks!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iPhone Security Feature 25

Five iPhone Security Features You Should Be Using

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:15 pm PDT by
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options. If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...