According to an overseas report, Apple is considering to relocate the production to the United States. If it became true, an iPhone might cost an arm and a leg…

There will soon be an iPhone labelled “made in USA”

According to a local source, the Apple’s main partner- Foxconn is studying the possibility of moving the iPhone assembly line to the US. A local newspaper reported that Apple had allegedly spoken with Foxconn and Pegatron, the two contract manufacturers it uses to build its smartphones and tablets. Foxconn agreed to help Apple figure out the way, while Pegatron declined due to the cost issues.

Besides, another source revealed that Foxconn agreed to comply with Apple’s plans, but they are not really satisfied because of the increase of production cost. However, because Apple is the largest customer, who accounts for 50% of their revenue, so Foxconn is very difficult to refuse.

The main reason behind this relocation is because of the pressure from the new elected president Donald Trump. Mr. Trump once loudly urged US companies to manufacture products at home and threatened to impose higher import goods from China. In an election campaign took place in March, he declared that he would ask Apple to build their iPhones in the US, not in China any more.

The exborbitant iPhones

There are many reasons that make the relocation impossible. The first is the production cost. Building an iPhone in the US will surely double the cost. Moreover, most of Apple’s components are manufactured in Asia, so it will take a lot of time and money to transfer them to USA through Pacific. According to a research firm Markit IHS, Apple must spend $225 for an iPhone 7 with 32 GB of storage. However, non-subsidized price of the iPhone on the market amounted to 649 USD. And if the relocation is applied, we can not estimate how the price will escalate in the future.