Apple lobbies for lower taxes to boost US chip production

Apple Inc. has been lobbying the US government on tax breaks to support domestic chip production, suggesting the iPhone maker is keen to move more of its supply chain to the US.

In second- and third-quarter disclosure reports, the company said it lobbied officials from the Treasury Department, Congress and the White House on tax topics including “issues related to tax credits for domestic semiconductor production.”

Since releasing its first custom processor in 2010, chips have become a major performance differentiator for Apple. The company designs some of these components in house, but outsources production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Many other parts for Apple devices are made in China.