the thing with iPhone production is not about producing iPhones per se, it's about providing a large volume customer for the supply chain below it - basic stuff like SMD resistors, capacitors, ICs, metal shields, frames, god knows what else - because you need that available domestically for weapons manufacturing, should China ever think of snacking Taiwan. But a potential military market in 10 years is not even close to "worth it" for any private investors or even the government to build out a domestic supply chain for that stuff.

> But a potential military market in 10 years is not even close to "worth it" for any private investors or even the government to build out a domestic supply chain for that stuff.

I’m pretty sure the US already has military market has been doing exactly this for decades. The military budget is over twice the size of Apple’s revenue.

The CHIPS act is essentially doing the same kind of thing that helped Taiwan get so good at semiconductors in the first place. Whether it’s been as effective remains to be seen.