Apple's semiconductor tariff exemption reportedly tied to an Intel chip-supply deal

Apple’s total exemption from U.S. semiconductor tariffs, granted in August 2025, was reportedly tied to a commitment by chief executive Tim Cook to source Intel-made chips for Mac and iPhone production. The account comes from people familiar with the arrangement.

The exemption spared Apple from tariffs of up to 100% on imported chips. Cook is said to have negotiated it directly with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and President Donald Trump, tying Apple’s relief to a pledge that would send business to Intel — a company the U.S. government now partly owns.

Washington took a roughly 10% stake in Intel in August 2025, converting about $5.7 billion in CHIPS and Science Act grants and $3.2 billion from the Defense Department’s Secure Enclave program into 433.3 million shares at $20.47 each. The Intel CHIPS Act stake made the struggling chipmaker’s recovery a direct financial interest of the state.

In June 2026, Trump said on Truth Social that Apple had agreed to work with Intel on designing and producing chips in the United States, sending Intel shares sharply higher. The reported tariff arrangement now frames that pledge as the earlier half of a longer exchange, and as evidence the administration’s campaign to turn Intel around is producing results.

Neither Apple nor Intel has confirmed the tariff-for-supply link on record, and the account rests on unnamed sources and government officials rather than any company statement. The volume, timing and value of any Apple order for Intel-made chips remain unclear.

For Apple, sourcing from Intel would mark a shift after years of leaning on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for its most advanced processors. Whether the commitment covers leading-edge parts or lower-stakes components will determine how much it actually reshapes Apple’s supply chain and how much Intel gains.