Apple said Monday it will invest $500 billion on expanding US facilities over the next four years, a move that could help it avoid new tariffs on goods imported from China.

Apple said the investment will create 20,000 jobs.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 10% on all imports from China, from which Apple imports many products, including most of its iPhones. Trump signaled Friday that the company was planning to make this investment following a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday. Trump attributed the investment to his tariffs.

“He’s investing hundreds of billions of dollars, I hope he’s announced it,” Trump said. “That’s what he told me … But he’s investing hundreds of billions of dollars. And others, too, a lot of chip makers coming in, a lot of automakers coming in.”

However, the investment builds on Apple’s previous efforts to expand its supply chain outside of China in recent years, partly in response to production issues in China during the pandemic. Those investments include growing production for Mac Pro computers in Texas.

TSMC, which makes chips for Apple, has also recently opened chipmaking plant in Arizona, helped by $6.6 billion in support from a bipartisan bill passed during the Biden administration to encourage investment in US chip manufacturing. However, Apple has mostly expanded production in places like India and Vietnam.

Still, the US investment could help Apple avoid the cost of Trump’s new tariffs. Although it will be a while before the new facilities are operational and the bulk of Apple’s manufacturing will continue to occur overseas, the announcement could help the company curry favor with the president. And that could be useful if Apple seeks an exemption to the China tariffs, as it did during Trump’s prior term.

“We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing US investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” said Cook in a statement from the company.

Trump thanked Cook and Apple for the announcement in an all-caps post on Truth Social early Monday, in which he took credit for the decision.

“The reason, faith in what we are doing, without witch (sic), they wouldn’t be investing ten cents,” he said.

White House trade counselor Peter Navarro wouldn’t rule out a tariff exemption for Apple on iPhone and other electronics imports from China, when asked by CNN on Monday.

“That’s always President Trump’s decision,” he said in an appearance on CNN News Central. Asked if he would support such an exemption, he refused to voice an opinion.

“I always let the boss do his thing,” he said.

Navarro defended the administration’s imposition of new tariffs and threats of additional tariffs since taking office, and he echoed Trump’s claim that the tariffs are the reason why Apple agreed to make the US investment in the first place.

“You’re just going to see hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars now across different industries and sectors coming into this country, investing here instead of Tim Cook going to China like he’s had too much of a penchant to do for far too long,” he said.

Apple’s US investment won’t directly circumvent the China tariffs, said Angelo Zino, equity analyst at CFRA research. But “we think it will at least put the company in the good graces of the new administration should exemptions be on the table,” Zino said in emailed commentary following the Monday announcement.

The investment

Apple doesn’t do much of its own manufacturing, largely using contractors instead. The company said it will work with thousands of manufacturing partners spread across all 50 states to produce more products in US facilities.

That includes a new server production facility in Houston that it said will support Apple Intelligence, the company’s brand of artificial intelligence products. Apple said the 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing facility, slated to open in 2026, will create thousands of jobs. The servers, previously manufactured outside of the United States, are a core to its artificial intelligence efforts, the company said.

“The servers bring together years of R&D by Apple engineers,” it said in its statement.

Apple said part of the investment will create an academy in Detroit to train small- and medium-sized businesses on implementing AI and smart manufacturing techniques. And the company will double its investment in its US Advanced Manufacturing Fund to $10 billion to promote “advanced manufacturing and skills development throughout the country.”

It will also expand data center capacity in North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada, and plans to invest in corporate facilities and production of Apple TV+ shows in 20 states.

At least some of these efforts were likely underway prior to Monday. And the announcement echoes similar promises Apple made during the two previous administrations.

In 2021, weeks after Biden’s inauguration, Apple said it would invest $430 billion in the United States over five years and create 20,000 new jobs, including construction of a new campus in North Carolina, which has reportedly been paused. And in January 2018, Apple said it would invest $350 billion in the United States over five years and create 20,000 jobs, including by growing US data center capacity.

Apple did not immediately respond to a question about whether any of the promised investment dollars or new jobs announced Monday had also been included in prior announcements.