Apple plans $600 billion investment in U.S.

President Donald Trump announced the investment at the White House on Wednesday evening, characterizing it as the largest outlay the tech giant ever made in any country. Flanked by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Trump added that the company planned to build what he called the biggest and most sophisticated iPhone production line in Harrodsburg, Ky. Additionally, the president said Apple would bring a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to Houston, invest billions of dollars to build data centers across the country, and build a manufacturing academy in Detroit. Trump said the investment would create 20,000 U.S.-based jobs for the company, as well as additional jobs for Apple suppliers.

How will Apple compete with overseas suppliers? The president promised to put what he described as a 100% tariff on chips and semiconductors imported into the United States. He said the tariff would be waived for any tech company that agreed to manufacture its products in the United States.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on the White House’s plan to cut AI regulations.