Tim Cook Confirms Apple Will Use US-Made Chips for First Time in a Decade

Apple CEO Tim Cook announces a new lineup of products during a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif., on Mar. 8, 2022. (Brooks Kraft/Apple Inc./Handout via Reuters)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the tech giant will soon start using semiconductor chips manufactured in the United States, the first time in almost 10 years.

Cook made the announcement while speaking at the site of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plant under construction in Phoenix, Arizona. TSMC is the largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry in the world. The event was attended by President Joe Biden and top executives from chip-manufacturing firms.

The Apple CEO also stated that the company will expand its relationship with TSMC when the factory becomes operational in 2024, after which most of the Apple silicon chips will be manufactured at the Phoenix plant.

“As many of you know, we work with TSMC to manufacture the chips that help power our products all over the world,” the Apple CEO said, according to Bloomberg. “And we look forward to expanding this work in the years to come … Thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly stamped ‘Made in America.’”

In China, the regime has imposed stringent pandemic restrictions, which ended up hitting iPhone production at facilities of Foxconn, one of its major suppliers.

Half of the world’s iPhones are manufactured at Foxconn’s factory complex in Zhengzhou, China. Last month, the area saw employees engage in violent protests due to strict COVID-19 policies and payment issues.

By sourcing chips from TSMC’s Arizona plant, Apple will be shifting away from China-based supply chains. The company can also remove itself from looming geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers and resulting business complications.

TSMC Plant, Apple Rights Abuses

The Phoenix plant is set to make the less efficient 5-nanometer chips initially when it begins production. On Nov. 2, the company’s founder, Morris Chang, revealed that he intends to bring the leading-edge 3-nanometer (nm) chip production to the plant.

However, some fear that such a move could be catastrophic for Taiwan from a security perspective. Led by companies like TSMC, Taiwan accounts for more than 90 percent of the world’s advanced chip production. This essentially protects the island from any aggressive Chinese invasion.

In an interview with The Epoch Times on Nov. 25, IT expert Hsu Chin-Huang said that TSMC follows an “N minus 1” policy, meaning that it will always retain the most advanced chip technology in Taiwan itself.

If TSMC brings 3 nm chip production to the United States, it will only happen when its facilities in Taiwan are capable of producing at least 2 nm chips.

Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has written an open letter to Tim Cook, accusing the firm of helping China restrict free speech. Apple has “time and again” provided assistance to the Chinese Communist Party when it comes to the surveillance and suppression of the human rights of Chinese people.

“At the same time, it appears that Apple might be importing this model of speech control to the United States: reports indicate that your company might de-platform Twitter from the App Store as a consequence of the free speech policies implemented by new ownership,” the letter stated.