Apple Inc. (AAPL): Made in the USA?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been critiqued before because of its decision to manufacture key products in China, but a few ardent followers of the tech company have recently noticed that some of its new iMacs are being marked “Assembled in USA.” With that in mind, then, it’s not a complete shock to see what Cupertino chairman Tim Cook had to say in an interview with NBC’s Rock Center on the subject.

Should this Concern Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc (GOOG)?

In the interview, which will air in its entirety tonight, Cook periphrastically shares that “one of the existing Mac lines will be manufactured exclusively in the United States next year,” adding that:

“We’ve been working for years on doing more and more in the United States […] When you back up and look at Apple’s effect on job creation in the United States, we estimate that we’ve created more than 600,000 jobs now […] The consumer electronics world was really never here […] It’s a matter of starting it here.”

While we don’t know the exact details of which iMac will be manufactured in the US, or even the location, it’s undoubtedly an encouraging announcement from the tech giant. For a stock that underwent a massive selloff yesterday and a moderate decline in after-hours trading, it’s possible that news of a larger commitment to the American economy will shore up investors’ opinions about buying into Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

At a US unemployment rate of 7.9%, any news of job stimulation from one of the world’s largest tech companies is reassuring, and should allow the bears to sleep a bit easier at night, so to speak. What are your thoughts on Tim Cook’s announcement? Will the move to US manufacturing affect Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s profitability, or will it be better for the company — and the American economy — in the long run? Let us know where you stand in the comments section below.