{"text":[[{"start":7.15,"text":"Apple has pledged $30bn to buy billions of US-made chips from Broadcom, as the iPhone maker continues to woo the Trump administration with promises to grow America’s semiconductor manufacturing industry."}],[{"start":19.200000000000003,"text":"The five-year deal marks the largest individual spending commitment so far under Apple’s pledge to spend $600bn in the US during Donald Trump’s presidency, a promise made last year to avoid his tariffs on Apple products."}],[{"start":35.25,"text":"Broadcom has long supplied Apple with the radio frequency, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity chips and components that allow its iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and other devices to connect to the internet and mobile carriers."}],[{"start":48.9,"text":"Apple said it expected the $30bn agreement to result in 15bn chips being produced in the US. The companies said it would support a $1.5bn investment in Broadcom’s manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado."}],[{"start":64.3,"text":"Apple chief executive Tim Cook said on Wednesday that he was “grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this”."}],[{"start":74.2,"text":"The smartphone giant has worked hard to avoid Trump’s ire after he briefly threatened 25 per cent tariffs on iPhones in May 2025 unless Apple moved its manufacturing from suppliers in Asia to the US. The company made a similar $350bn spending pledge during Trump’s first term."}],[{"start":93.2,"text":"Rather than embarking on a wholesale shift of its highly complex, global supply chain away from Asia, Apple instead has focused on chips — some of the highest-value parts of its devices — emphasising the idea of creating an “end-to-end silicon supply chain” in the US."}],[{"start":109.9,"text":"This has primarily involved promises to buy more from a range of chip companies, including Taiwan’s TSMC in Arizona, Texas Instruments in Texas, and GlobalFoundries in New York state, supporting investments in those companies’ manufacturing facilities."}],[{"start":126.05000000000001,"text":"Apple has offered little insight into its total additional US spending under the $600bn pledge, compared to what it would have spent as part of its normal operations. It has cited a mixture of research and development, direct hiring and spending on suppliers with existing US capital projects as examples of the commitments."}],[{"start":145.3,"text":"The latest announcement comes after Broadcom on Monday announced it had extended its contract as a supplier to Apple until 2031, including a deal to develop and supply a range of custom chips for use in Apple’s future products."}],[{"start":159.25,"text":"The $1.8tn group is best known as a chip designer and software maker, co-developing chips for AI data centres with the likes of Google and OpenAI. But it also operates chip manufacturing sites in the US, including the Fort Collins facility, which once belonged to Hewlett-Packard."}],[{"start":176.45,"text":"Apple’s drive to design more of its own chips had left investors concerned that Broadcom could see its role in Apple’s supply chain reduced over time."}],[{"start":186.04999999999998,"text":"This happened to competitor Qualcomm, for example, whose 5G modems Apple has been steadily phasing out of its products in favour of its own C-series modem chips."}],[{"start":203.9,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783513102_8680.mp3"}