In a statement that could be seen as a letdown to India’s manufacturing ambitions, US President Donald Trump has said that he’s “not interested” in Apple building its products in India, urging the iPhone maker to ramp up its manufacturing in the United States.
“I had a little problem with (Apple CEO) Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said during his Doha visit. “I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion, but now I hear you are building all over India,” Trump said.
“I don’t want you building in India,” the US President continued. “You can build in India, if you want to take care of India, because India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world, so it is very hard to sell in India.
The US President emphasised that the United States has supported Apple despite its heavy reliance on China.
“I said, Tim, we are treating you really good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years. We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves.”
Trump added that Apple would be “upping their production” in the US.
As per reports, China accounts for more than 75% of iPhone production globally, while India contributes to about 18%.
The Cupertino-based tech giant is taking urgent steps to move production of most of its US-sold iPhones to factories in India by the end of 2026.
Earlier this month, Apple’s CEO said he expected “a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin”.
In recent weeks, the iPhone maker has stepped up production in India to beat US tariffs, shipping some 600 tons of iPhones worth $2 billion to the US in March, a monthly record for both Tata and Foxconn, with the latter alone accounting for smartphones worth $1.3 billion.