Apple has been trying to boost domestic chip production in the United States, and for that the company has lobbied the U.S. government to get some tax reductions and other benefits. This suggests that the company is likely to increase its supply chain in the United States.
As reported by Bloomberg, the U.S. government made public this week the lobbying disclosure for the second and third quarter of 2020, which reveals that Apple has lobbied the Treasury Department, Congress, and the White House.
The reasons behind the lobbies between Apple and the U.S. government are many, but most of them include tax reductions for chip production in the country. Part of the document mentions that the company discussed “issues related to tax credits for domestic semiconductor production.”
Apple’s U.S. lobbying efforts are now mostly led by company veteran Tim Powderly, who was promoted around the time Cynthia Hogan, Apple’s prior top U.S. lobbyist, left to join former vice president Joe Biden’s campaign. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
Apple’s first custom chip, the A4, was introduced in 2010 with the first generation iPad — and then it was quickly added to iPhone 4 and other devices. Apple chips are now present in almost every device made by the company, and soon Apple Silicon will replace Intel processors on the Mac.
The company relies on TSMC and other suppliers located in Asia to produce its custom chips, which has become a problem due to the trade war between these countries and the United States. As chips are now an essential part of Apple, the company has been investing in new ways to produce them at a lower cost.
Apple currently builds some of its products in a Texas facility, including Mac Pro. Components such as Qualcomm chips, which are part of the iPhone, are also produced in the U.S.