Yesterday President Trump was interviewed by Steve Hilton for Fox News for about a half hour. One of the most interesting segments of the interview was on China and what could occur under a second Trump term, should he be reelected. What emerged was talk of the U.S. possibly getting tougher with Chinese companies and China in general.

The topic of "decoupling" entered the conversation at the 6:00 minute mark of the interview presented below. It's on this very point where we could understand why this vein of thinking is pushing companies like Apple suppliers Foxconn, Pegatron and Luxshare to seriously consider the opening of major plants in Mexico, the U.S. and elsewhere in this hemisphere. If you're totally unfamiliar with the term of economic decoupling, there's an interesting article titled "The Great Decoupling"  worth checking out.

The video below is set to start at the 3:47 mark. The topic of China ends around the 9:45 mark.

Complicating matters is China's recent moves against democratic run Hong Kong.  Such behavior shakes the confidence of many businessmen in Taiwan and elsewhere in the region. They don't want to be the canary in the coal mine, so there's a serious mind-shift amongst supply chain suppliers to make the move to places like the U.S. and Mexico while they can still do it on their own terms. Public companies have to have responsible contingency plans on record to calm investors.

Decoupling isn't just what the U.S. may do, it's Europe too. In the article that I linked to above it notes: "It’s not just economic ties between China and the United States that are in danger. Europe, too, is increasingly talking of rolling back the deep trade and investment ties it has developed with Beijing in recent decades (even as it is cutting trade ties with itself, as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union). Other countries are also pulling up the drawbridges—all leery that today’s unprecedented level of economic integration has gone too far, bringing more pain and less gain.

Undoubtedly, most experts and officials agree, brewing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing—amplified by the coronavirus pandemic—will force some multinational companies to alter their business models, reorienting their supply chains closer to U.S. shores." Does that sound familiar with today's news?

In a report by Reuters today we learn that "Taiwan-based electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron are among the companies eyeing new factories in Mexico, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the U.S.-China trade war and coronavirus pandemic prompt firms to reexamine global supply chains.

Foxconn and Pegatron are known as contractors for several phone manufacturers including Apple.

According to two of the sources, Foxconn has plans to use the factory to make Apple iPhones. However, one of the sources said, there had been no sign of Apple’s direct involvement in the plan, yet.

China’s Luxshare Precision Industry is also considering building a facility in Mexico this year to offset the tariff war between the world’s two largest economies, the two sources said.

It was not immediately clear which product lines were being considered by Luxshare, which according to media reports is a leading manufacturer of Apple AirPods. For more on Apple supply chain partners considering a move to Mexico, read the full Reuters report.

While the Reuters report focused on Apple suppliers moving to Mexico and the U.S., Patently Apple posted many reports about these same manufacturers talking of moving plants to India and Vietnam in the last year.