#manufacturing #USmanufacturing #iPhones #Apple #tariffs
More domestic manufacturing may be a desired goal, but it’s not as easy to pull off as it sounds.
Tariffs are designed to bring more manufacturing to the U.S., but it can’t happen overnight.
Take the idea of putting a tariff on an iPhone, which is now made in China.
To make an iPhone here, Apple would have to create enough capacity to fulfill the demand . As iPhones change and are upgraded, the manufacturing will have to change with it.
It probably means Apple would have to build all new factories. That alone would take years.
It would have to build them so they can be easily retooled as the iPhone evolves.
Then, there is the job of finding enough workers, which has not been easy for any employer recently.
What would Apple have to pay these workers to entice them to work in an iPhone factory?
If the tariffs go away BEFORE Apple can finish building the factory, would the whole idea be moot? Certainly, the Chinese-made iPhones would always be cheaper to make than the ones made here.
Now, let’s talk about how often iPhone users trade in their phones.
Are you the type of user that trades his or her phone every time a new iPhone comes out?
Or, do you hold on to your iPhone for as long as it works for you, or until Apple decides it no longer will support your old phone? (Such forced obsolescence is a debate for another day).
How will those decision-making patterns affect factory construction?
What about all the accessories – cases, holsters etc. – that go with iPhones. Do the companies that make those make them in the U.S.? If not, and they are tariffed, will a case cost more than a phone, or will those companies also have to create factories here?
The tariffs are being assessed without regard for any of this. It’s nice to wish for more domestic manufacturing, but it’s hard to achieve, considering the facts on the ground.
Most companies would gladly make more things here, if they could do it for the same price as they pay to make them elsewhere.
But labor, materials and everything else used to make things are usually more expensive here.
Those who wish to create more manufacturing jobs here learn quickly that Americans will not work long hours in a factory for minimum wage.
Americans are having enough trouble affording to live here, never mind having to be forced into an income that will not cover their bills.
In short, domestic manufacturing may be a great goal. But, not everything can be made here for the price that can make what we need affordable.
International trade should be as free of tariffs as possible to allow the markets to be stable, affordable and make products of the best quality and price.
Peter