President Donald Trump is attempting to encourage US companies to produce domestically by announcing high customs tariffs.

After President Donald Trump’s record-setting customs tariff announcement last week directed at Asian and European countries, the question arose about what American technology companies with production largely overseas would do in response. Trump aims to incentivize companies to produce in the US with these tariffs, but it is uncertain whether companies will relocate their factories to the US. Leading these companies is American tech giant Apple. On Tuesday, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was asked whether iPhone production could be moved to the US. Leavitt replied, “Absolutely. The President believes we have the workforce, resources, and labor to accomplish this.” “And as you know, Apple has invested $500 billion in the US. So, if Apple didn’t think the US could do it, they probably wouldn’t have made such a significant change.” Apple had announced in February that they would invest $500 billion over four years. The expected spending covers everything from purchases from American suppliers to filming series and movies for Apple TV+ in the US. Following the White House spokesperson’s statement, Apple’s shares fell by 3.5%.

Apple has produced iPhones worth $14 billion in India by April 2024 and plans to produce 25% of iPhones there by 2028 according to estimates. The tech company has also partially shifted iPad and MacBook production to Vietnam.