Apple Reportedly Agreed to Intel Chips To Avoid White House Tariffs
4 66According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled), Apple agreed to use Intel's U.S. chipmaking plants after White House officials pressured Tim Cook during tariff-relief talks last summer. MacRumors reports: In August 2025, Apple CEO Tim Cook was in Washington to lobby the Trump administration to drop its proposed 100 percent tariff on semiconductor imports -- a levy that would have raised costs across Apple's product line. Apple reportedly secured an exemption after pledging to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S., although many of those investments were already planned. During the meetings, president Trump and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick are said to have urged Cook to use Intel's fabrication plants to make some of Apple's chips. The link between the tariff talks and the Apple-Intel deal had not been previously reported.
Almost a year later, Trump announced via his Truth Social platform that Apple would begin using Intel-made chips in some products. "We need to design and build our Chips right here in America," the president posted. The news sent Intel shares to record highs. According to a person familiar with the negotiations cited by the WSJ, Apple plans to have Intel make chips for both Mac laptops and iPhones. The report doesn't say which chips or in what volume, and Apple is expected to remain reliant on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, for the majority of its custom silicon.
4 comments
If only (Score: 5, Informative)
by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Monday July 13, 2026 @03:13PM (#66236710)
There was some sort of... its been so long, whats that stuff called? Oh yeah, legislation! What if there was sort of legislation that funded and support domestic semiconductor fabrication and all the precursor stuff needed for it?
Whats that? There was? [wikipedia.org]
Wonder what happened? Oh yeah, it was picked apart and kind of left to rot. I'm sure gladhanding and handshake deals with the President will be just as good.
Beyond Natcast’s discontinuation (and the apparent termination of the NSTC itself), the Industrial Advisory Committee has been disbanded, the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program is not active,4 the new semiconductor-focused Manufacturing USA Institute has been discontinued, and the Consortium Steering Committee has not met since the change of administration.5 As these activities are mandated by the CHIPS Act, it is not clear how Commerce intends to comply with the Act without substantially increasing staff — at odds with the administration’s push for smaller government. From the outside, the new CHIPS R&D vision appears more like a profit-driven investment program than a provider of core infrastructure benefiting all participants and prioritizing American national and economic security.
https://www.factorysettings.or... [factorysettings.org]
Re:If only (Score: 5, Insightful)
by ClickOnThis ( 137803 ) on Monday July 13, 2026 @04:02PM (#66236846)
this seems a case where Trump actually acted in (in his judgement) the country's best interests.
It might happen, but I'm not sure you can say it was Trump's judgement that got us there. Seems to me he acts in self-interest almost exclusively, except for his kids and close friends. And even then it seems transactional. If it benefits someone else as well, that's a collateral effect.
"America First" has been his rallying cry, but by word and deed he seems to think "Trump first."
Re:TSMC is promising new fabs in the USA (Score: 5, Informative)
by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Monday July 13, 2026 @03:25PM (#66236742)
promising is they keyword here. Fabs take years to build and the USA isn't exactly a reliable trading partner.
Apple already using TSMC chips made in the USA (Score: 5, Informative)
by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Monday July 13, 2026 @03:33PM (#66236764)
promising is they keyword here. Fabs take years to build and the USA isn't exactly a reliable trading partner.
I think "current status" is the key phrase here. From Google:
"TSMC’s massive $65 billion Phoenix, Arizona, project is rapidly expanding into a "gigafab" cluster. The first fab has been in production since late 2024 using 4nm process technology. Construction on the second fab is complete, with equipment installation underway ahead of an accelerated 2027 production target for 3nm chips
Fab 1: High-volume production of 4-nanometer (N4) chips is actively supplying major U.S. customers like Apple and NVIDIA.
Fab 2: The physical building structure is complete. Equipment installation is slated for 2026, with high-volume production of 3-nanometer (N3) chips targeted for the second half of 2027.
Fab 3: Groundbreaking and structural topping ceremonies are complete, with this facility slated to utilize even more advanced 2nm and A16 process technologies.
Future Expansion: TSMC has acquired additional land and laid the groundwork for up to six fabs plus research and development facilities"