Trump urges Apple to halt expansion of production in India, favor US manufacturing
US President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure with Apple CEO Tim Cook over the company’s increasing manufacturing activities in India, urging the tech giant to focus more on producing goods within the United States.
During comments made on Thursday, Trump criticized Apple’s plans to ramp up production in India, where the company aims to manufacture roughly a quarter of its global iPhones in the coming years.
Highlighting Apple’s previous heavy dependence on China for manufacturing, Trump insisted that the company owes it to the US to invest domestically.
“I spoke with Tim Cook yesterday and told him, ‘I treated you well, but now I’m hearing you’re expanding production in India. I don’t want that to happen,’” Trump stated.
He also referred to Apple’s February announcement of a $500 billion investment pledge in the US and suggested that the company would increase production domestically, although he did not share specific details.
Apple’s move into India is part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on China, where most iPhones are currently assembled. Recently, Foxconn, Apple’s primary manufacturing partner, received approval from Indian authorities to establish a semiconductor facility in collaboration with HCL Group.
Trump made these remarks while addressing wider trade relations between the US and India. He described India as one of the countries with the highest tariffs but noted that India has proposed reducing some tariffs as part of an ongoing negotiation.
In April, the US introduced a 26% “reciprocal tariff” on certain Indian imports, which is currently applied on a temporary basis as part of a new trade approach.
Although Apple produces its Mac Pro computers in the US and has announced plans to build AI servers in Texas, experts say that large-scale iPhone manufacturing in the US is unlikely due to significantly higher production costs—estimated between $1,500 and $3,500 per phone.
