Trump offers Apple ‘large’ tax cuts for US manufacturing return

US president-elect Donald Trump held a phone call with Apple CEO Tim Cook, offering the tech firm “very large” tax cuts to return manufacturing to the USA.

In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said that he received calls from Bill Gates and Tim Cook.

“I was honoured yesterday, I got a call from Bill Gates, great call, we had a great conversation, I got a call from Tim Cook at Apple, and I said, ‘Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you’re making your product right here’,” the president-elect was quoted as saying.

Apple products are designed in the USA but manufactured elsewhere, but Donald Trump is pushing hard for a ‘made in USA’ plan

What was the Apple executive’s response though?

“He said, ‘I understand that.’ I said: ‘I think we’ll create the incentives for you, and I think you’re going to do it. We’re going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you’ll be happy about.'”

Interestingly enough, a report last week indicates that Apple is indeed exploring the possibility of US manufacturing.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, the Cupertino company asked its Asian manufacturers to study the feasibility of making iPhones in the United States.

“Apple asked both Foxconn and Pegatron, the two iPhone assemblers, in June to look into making iPhones in the US,” a source told the publication. So what was the reaction?

“Foxconn complied, while Pegatron declined to formulate such a plan due to cost concerns,” the source added.