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Chip war: Apple strikes major US-made semiconductor deal

Apple says it has struck a multi-billion dollar deal with chipmaker Broadcom to use more US-made parts.

Under the multi-year agreement, the two US companies will develop components for 5G devices that are designed and manufactured in America.

According to Apple, the deal is part of a plan announced in 2021 to invest $430 billion (£346 billion) in the US economy.

The move comes at a time when the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing over the tech industry is heating up.

The long-running dispute has resulted in the US imposing a series of measures on China’s chip industry and investing billions of dollars to boost America’s semiconductor sector.

In recent months, US tech giants have come under increasing scrutiny from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers for their reliance on Chinese manufacturers and components.

Apple has gradually diversified its supply chains, with more and more devices being manufactured in countries like India and Vietnam.

Last year the company announced that it would buy semiconductors from a factory being built in Arizona by Taiwan chipmaker TSMC.

In 2022, Apple also announced plans to manufacture the iPhone 14 in India, a key milestone in the company’s strategy to diversify manufacturing outside of China.

With the move, the company expanded its production facilities in India – since 2017 iPhones have been manufactured in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Last month, Apple opened its first Indian retail stores – in financial hub Mumbai and in the national capital, Delhi.

Under the latest agreement, which expands the iPhone maker’s existing relationship with Broadcom, components for Apple devices will be designed and built in Colorado and other parts of the United States.

“We’re excited to make commitments that leverage the ingenuity, creativity and innovative spirit of American manufacturing,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

Tensions between the US and China have escalated in recent months.

Earlier this week, China said products from US memory chip giant Micron Technology posed a national security risk – Beijing’s first major move against a US chipmaker.

The country’s cyberspace regulator announced Sunday that America’s largest memory chip maker poses “serious risks to network security.”

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