'Made in the USA' reference disappears from Trump phone listing
Days after the Trump Organisation announced plans to launch a US-made smartphone, a reference to its American production has vanished from its website.A "Made in the USA" tagline featured in promotional material for the Trump T1 phone when it launched on 16 June, was no longer displayed on its site as of Wednesday, reporters found.But the Trump Mobile organisation says the phone will still be made in America."Speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate," a spokesperson told the BBC.
"We're excited to launch the phones later this year, but in the meantime, anyone can switch to Trump Mobile now with their current phones," they added - directing people to the provider's website to find out more.Wording on the company's website, advertising the launch of its upcoming mobile plan for Americans, now counts an "American-Proud Design" among the Trump T1 phone's key features.They also say the phone is "brought to life right here in the USA", with "American hands behind every device".A banner that previously encouraged site visitors to pre-order "our MADE IN THE USA T1 Phone" on the website now only refers to it as "the new T1 phone".The changes were first spotted by tech news publisher, The Verge.When the gold Trump smartphone was announced by family members of president Donald Trump, experts cast doubt on the idea it could currently be built from scratch in the US."They don't even have a working prototype. It's extremely unlikely," said Prof Tinglong Dai of Johns Hopkins' Carey Business School."You would have to have a miracle," he added.CCS Insight analyst Leo Gebbie said the US "simply does not have the high-tech supply chain" required for smartphone assembly - especially not in time for its slated release in September.He said that assembling the phone in the US from parts imported from elsewhere may be the "most likely" path for claiming its American sovereignty.Similar doubts have been shared about President Trump urging Apple to move production of its iPhone to the US.Trump previously threatened to levy 25% tariffs on the company if it did not shift iPhone production to America."I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," he wrote on his platform Truth Social in May.Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the idea the Cupertino tech giant would make iPhones in the US was a "fairy tale that is not feasible".Meanwhile, Eric Trump, who joined Donald Trump Jr to launch the organisation's mobile phone plan for Americans earlier in June, told a podcast last Monday that "eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America".
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The Independent
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