Apple is preparing to source its chips from US and European manufactures within a couple of years.
As Bloomberg reports, during an internal meeting held in Germany, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the company will start buying chips made in the US from 2024. Cook said, "We’ve already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in ’24, so we’ve got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less."
There are also plans to start sourcing chips from Europe, with Cook going on to say, "I’m sure that we will also source from Europe as those plans become more apparent."
The plant Cook is referring to in Arizona belongs to TSMC, which Apple already relies on in Taiwan for chip production. However, the Arizona facility won't start producing chips until 2024, and when it does, they will only be 5nm. So while Apple may get some of its chips that way, manufacturing in Taiwan will remain key to future products.
Apple already assembles some of its products in the US and has a strong presence in Germany where it has hundreds of engineers. Their main focus right now is developing a 5G modem for the iPhone. Any expansion of Apple's operations in the US and Europe will have a positive influence on jobs and investment.
With the Chinese government's ongoing focus on zero-COVID, combined with the export sanctions the US has imposed on China, Apple has no choice but to react. We've already seen that in the way the company is shifting more of its production to Vietnam and India.