Trump Jobs Effect: Apple Supplier Foxconn Exploring $10 Billion Investment In US

Chinese parts manufacturer Foxconn has been responsible for much of the hardware in the Apple iPhone and soon, the company could be headed to U.S. shores. Following Foxconn’s annual investors meeting Thursday, Chairman Terry Gou said the company is considering opening a factory in the United States, Bloomberg reports.

The factory, which would be worth an estimated $7 billion and be the first of a total $10 billion investment in the U.S., is expected to focus on building displays. According to Gou, the company hasn’t locked down a potential state for the factory, but is looking at states including Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin for the factory.

Read: Apple's Foxconn Exploring iPhone Manufacturing in U.S.

Foxconn is also considering Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana for its other investments. Foxcoon said it wants to finalize plans for its investments in July and intends to make them over a five-year period.

Speaking to investors, Gou set aggressive ambitions for Foxconn’s U.S. investment plans, Bloomberg reported. While the potential Foxconn U.S. plant wouldn’t employ as many workers as the company’s Chinese plants, Foxconn still heavily touted its ability to bring jobs to the U.S.

“Our investment in the U.S. will focus on these states because they are the heart of the country’s manufacturing sector,” Gou said. “We are bringing the entire industrial chain back to the traditional manufacturing region of the U.S. That may include display making, semiconductor packaging and cloud-related technologies.”

The investment also comes amid an aggressive push from President Donald Trump to bring jobs to the U.S. During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly called for companies to bring their foreign manufacturing back to the U.S. to encourage job growth. He often specifically targeted Apple.

On Foxconn’s end, the company’s statement comes after past explorations into expanding its manufacturing footprint. Last December, the company confirmed to International Business Times it was exploring the U.S. for potential investment opportunities. In the past, both Apple and suppliers have been skeptical about bringing iPhone assembly to the U.S. but Foxconn still sees some opportunity for individual component production.

Read: Toshiba Picks Preferred Bidder For Sale Of Its Flash Memory Division

Elsewhere in its talk with investors, Gou also blasted Toshiba for its recent announcement in the sale of its semiconductor division. Toshiba previously announced plans to sell off its sizable microchip division — second only to Samsung — due to financial troubles. While Foxconn has been aggressively trying to put a bid together, Toshiba said Wednesday it is in favor of a bid led by several Japanese firms.

Still, Foxconn has much to look forward to in the upcoming year. With the likely pending release of the iPhone 8, Foxconn is expected to maintain its role as Apple’s primary manufacturing partner.