WASHINGTON: Apple said it had struck a multi-billion dollar deal with chipmaker Broadcom to use more US-made parts.
According to the BBC, the two United States companies will develop components for 5G devices designed and manufactured in America under the multi-year agreement.
Apple said the deal is part of the plan it announced in 2021 to invest 430bn dollars in the United States economy. The move comes as the trade row centred on the technology firm intensifies between Beijing and Washington.
The long-running dispute has seen the United States impose measures against China’s chip-making industry and invest billions of dollars to boost the United States semiconductor sector.
In recent months, United States tech giants have come under increased scrutiny from Democrat and Republican lawmakers over their reliance on Chinese manufacturers and components.
Apple has been gradually diversifying its supply chains, with more of its devices now made in countries like India and Vietnam.
Last year, it said it would buy semiconductors from an industry built in the US state of Arizona by Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC.
In 2022, Apple announced plans to make the iPhone 14 in India, an important milestone in the company’s strategy to diversify manufacturing outside of China.
The move expanded the company’s Indian manufacturing operations – it has been making Apple phones in southern Tamil Nadu since 2017.
Last month, Apple company launched its first Indian retail stores – in the economic hub Mumbai and the country’s capital Delhi.
Under the new deal, which expands the iPhone maker’s existing ties with Broadcom, components for Apple devices would be designed and built in Colorado and other parts of the United States.
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said, “We are thrilled to make commitments that harness the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of American manufacturing.”
Tussles between the United States and China have escalated in recent months.
Earlier this week, China said products made by the United States memory chip giant Micron Technology were a national security risk, in Beijing’s first main move against a United States chip maker.
The country’s cyberspace regulator announced on Sunday that America’s huge maker of memory chips poses “serious network security risks”.
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