Apple & Trump: $100B Investment, Tariffs News Push Shares Up 13%

American technology stalwart Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) just made headlines, with President Trump's influence and decision-making playing a key role in the stock's story. Below, we’ll detail two key pieces of news and explain why they are leading Apple shares higher.

Apple Adds a Fresh $100 Billion Investment to Trump Appeasement Policy

In February, Apple announced it would make a massive $500 billion investment in the United States over the next four years. On Aug. 6, the Magnificent Seven company upped the ante, committing an additional $100 billion investment to its home country. This move comes amid President Trump’s unwavering stance that he wants to see iPhones built in America.

Trump reiterated this stance in a joint press conference with Apple CEO Tim Cook to announce the new investment. He called the investment “a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America."

Cook did not parrot this notion.

The economic advantage of producing iPhones overseas makes this unlikely. Analysts have estimated that producing an iPhone in the United States could bring its price to $3,500. That’s nearly triple the cost of the company’s most expensive iPhone 16 Pro Max model today, which retails for $1,199.

This price increase would massively deteriorate Apple’s competitive positioning in the smartphone market. It is certainly not something investors should hope for.

That’s part of the reason that markets are happy about the company’s latest U.S. investment.

Trump has ramped up tariff pressure on Apple to get the firm to move iPhone manufacturing to the United States. With the latest investment, the company is garnering goodwill from the President, which can help it stay out of his tariff crosshairs.

In the same press conference, Trump floated a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports. However, he said that companies that invest in America, like Apple, would be exempt from such regulations. 

Apple is playing ball with the President to protect its interests, and thus those of its shareholders.

India Hit With 50% Tariffs, But Apple Avoids Catching a Stray

Additionally, on Aug. 6, Trump declared that he would raise India's tariff to 50%, starting 21 days after Aug. 7. This change is a response to India's continued oil imports from Russia.

Initially, this appeared highly relevant to Apple. The company has moved much of its production for U.S.-sold iPhones to India, partly to avoid U.S. tariffs imposed on its traditional manufacturing hub, China. It reportedly hopes to move most of this production to India by the end of 2026.

Higher tariffs on India would severely limit the company’s ambitions to avoid higher costs. However, further reports revealed that smartphones would be exempt from Indian tariffs.

Apple won’t have to pay tariffs on Indian-made iPhones at all. It’s not unreasonable to think that the company’s $100 billion investment contributed to Trump’s exemption decision.

Overall, Apple’s U.S. investments are helping it avoid tariffs in more ways than one: both on country and product-specific levies.

Apple Stock Gets a Flurry of Positive Sentiment, But AI Remains a Key Question Mark

Ultimately, these pieces of news led to Apple stock having one of its best weeks in quite a while. From Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, shares gained by more than 13%.

Trump's tirade against the company has been one of the key factors weighing on Apple in 2025, with shares still down significantly on the year.

Thus, it is only fitting that positive developments related to President Trump have resulted in positive price action. These news items are clearly good signs for Apple, indicating that the company could face less pressure from Trump going forward.

Still, whether Apple can truly return to being a winner for stock market investors remains up in the air. The company has been extensively criticized for making underwhelming moves in artificial intelligence (AI).

Markets want to see something change in the company's approach so that Apple can prove that it isn’t missing the boat on AI.

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