Sen. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump disagree on plenty, but there’s one thing the presidential contenders concur on: Apple should be making devices in the US.
“I do wish they’d be manufacturing some of their devices, here in the United States rather than in China,” Democratic presidential hopeful Sanders said in an interview with New York Daily Newson Monday. “And I do wish that they would not be trying to avoid paying their fair share of taxes,” Sanders added. The comments echo sentiments expressed by Republican front-runner Trump earlier this year.
Sanders’ campaign did not immediatly respond to a request for comment.
Apple primarily relies on foreign manufacturing partners, notably China, although it does make MacPros and some iPhone parts in the US. When politicians call for domestic manufacturing, they tend to reason it will benefit the nation economically. But manufacturing costs are much cheaper abroad.
Many American companies have become reliant on Asian companies like Foxconn, which manufactures the iPhone, to keep devices affordable. If the iPhone was manufactured in US,analysts say consumers could end up paying twice as much, or more, for the phone.
The US also doesn’t have the same manufacturing capabilities, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a December interview on“60 Minutes,” and has fallen behind China in terms of specialist skills.
“China put an enormous focus on manufacturing,” said Cook. “The US, over time, began to stop having as many vocational kinds of skills.”
While the candidates may agree on this, Sander’s comments about Apple seem relatively tame compared to those made by Trump.
Sanders weighed in on Apple’s manufacturing when asked whether Apple was having a negative impact on the US. “No, Apple is not destroying the fabric of America,” he answered, repeating the interviewer’s wording.
[Source:- Cnet]
