Why Apple can't easily move iPhone production to the US: 2,700+ parts, 187 suppliers, 28 countries

In a nutshell: The Trump administration has big ambitions for iPhone production: it wants Apple's handsets to be completely manufactured in the US. But moving production to the United States is a near impossibility for a device whose components come from 187 suppliers in 28 countries.

Donald Trump believes the huge tariffs implemented on goods imported from China and other countries will encourage US firms to manufacture their devices domestically. That's easier said than done for a lot of firms, especially Apple, which relies heavily on China for iPhone production.

In a deep dive into the iPhone's manufacturing process, the Financial Times writes that new models consist of around 2,700 different parts, and that Apple uses 187 suppliers in 28 countries. China makes most of these components – only 30 Apple suppliers operate entirely outside of the country – though some of the high-end parts are made in Taiwan, and a few key elements are manufactured in South Korea and Japan.

There are some iPhone components made in the US, but less than 5% of the total are manufactured domestically, including the glass casing and the lasers that enable Face ID. However, certain elements of these parts, such as the backlit display and layer that enables user interaction, are made in China.

The FT writes that the 74 tiny screws that hold the iPhone together are primarily made in China and India – and fixed in place by hand.

Earlier this month, US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick said that the "army of millions and millions of people screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America."

Then there's the assembly. Apple ships the equivalent of 438 iPhones every minute, 85% of which are assembled by Foxconn, which has dozens of locations in China.

In total, there are more than 700 production sites making iPhone components.

With so many moving parts in the supply chain and all the components involved, the fact that most of the manufacturers are located in China makes the production process easier.

"There are a lot of advantages to co-locating the activities in the supply chain, in terms of speed and quality of communication and innovation in the product and process design," Andy Tsay, a professor at Santa Clara's Leavey School of Business, told the FT.

While overseas companies used to go to China for cheap labor, the attraction now is the skill and type of skills available in one location.

"It is like the products we do require really advanced tooling and the precision that you have to have in tooling and working with the materials that we do are state-of-the-art, and the tooling skill is very deep here," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in 2017.

Apple is currently racing to move all assembly of iPhones destined for the US market from China to India by the end of 2026, further emphasizing that a 100% US-made iPhone isn't going to happen. And even if Apple were somehow able to do it, the move would take years and would likely result in a much more expensive iPhone price tag – some predict as much as $3,500.