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An iPhone made in the US? Apple is considering it, says report

Apple told the Asian firms that manufacture the phone to explore the possibility of relocating production to the States, says an overseas report.

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Edward Moyer is a senior editor at CNET and a many-year veteran of the writing and editing world. He enjoys taking sentences apart and putting them back together. He also likes making them from scratch. ¶ For nearly a quarter of a century, he's edited and written stories about various aspects of the technology world, from the US National Security Agency's controversial spying techniques to historic NASA space missions to 3D-printed works of fine art. Before that, he wrote about movies, musicians, artists and subcultures.
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Apple is reportedly exploring the possibility of making at least some iPhone components in the US.

Josh Miller/CNET

Is Apple looking into manufacturing the iPhone in the US?

According to the Nikkei Asian Review it is.

On Thursday, the Japan-based business publication cited an anonymous source in reporting that Apple had asked the two Asia-based firms that assemble the device to examine the possibility of moving production to the States.

That request, to Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron, came in June, the news outlet said.

Apple didn't immediately reply to a request for comment on the report.

Moving production to the States would address campaign rhetoric from now President-elect Donald Trump, who said in a speech in January that a Trump administration would "get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries."

But it could also jack up the iPhone's price.

"Making iPhones in the US means the cost will more than double," the Nikkei Asian Review's source told the news outlet.

The report notes the possibility that production of only "a certain number of iPhone components" could shift to the US.

In a memo to employees last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed strong reactions to Trump's win and said, "We only do great work and improve the world by moving forward."