Foxconn considering $7 billion United States factory

Foxconn is best-known for assembling products for worldwide brands such as Apple and Sony. The executive ardently favors unifying China and Taiwan, which would further his own business interests – Foxconn owns manufacturing facilities, which have been heavily criticized for their harsh working conditions, in the city of Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong province. Foxconn has grown to become China’s biggest exporter.

Display Plant in U.S.

According to the report, Apple is “mulling” a joint investment with Foxconn for a $7 billion automated display facility in the United States…

Gou told Nikkei, “Apple is willing to invest in the facility together because they need the (panels) as well”.

Late a year ago, Apple Inc.

The US is under the leadership of its new President now who has always advocated in putting US interests first.

“We can confirm that we are in preliminary discussions regarding a potential investment that would represent an expansion of our current USA operations”. Apple and one of its suppliers was rumored to have been behind Project Azalea, which never materialized.

During the presidential campaign, Trump warned he would try to force Apple into manufacturing its iPhones and iPads in the U.S.

Gou’s comments on Sunday confirm speculation about Foxconn’s involvement in an agreement reached between Trump and the head of Japan’s SoftBank Corp.

Is it feasible to manufacture in the U.S.?

Trump has been blaming China for Americans losing jobs as businesses go overseas for their manufacturing. President Trump has always promised that he would look to significantly reduce dependence on foreign workers, focusing on creating local jobs instead. “We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American”. The Foxconn chair predicts that buyers will be paying $500 more for an all-American product where a $300 equivalent would do just as well.

The majority of Apple’s future growth depends on its strong foothold in China. It aims to make full use of the Japanese company’s technologies in fields such as LCD panel production to pivot away from its old low-margin, high-volume model.

Analysts cautioned that “nationalistic approach” will have an impact, according to a report from CNBC. So even if an iPhone was assembled in the USA, most phones would still be made in China for the foreseeable future.