Apple chief executive Tim Cook has struck a deal with Donald Trump to invest $600bn in the US over the next four years to foster an “end-to-end” American chip supply chain, but the precise scale of its commitment is difficult to measure.
In securing much-needed tariff relief, Cook has built on a strategy he adopted during the president’s first term: pledge to invest a large sum of money for US manufacturing without completely upending Apple’s supply chains, which are heavily geared towards Asia.
Analysts have celebrated the breakthrough, while questioning how such eye-popping figures are calculated — and whether a real transformation is under way.