New Delhi: At a recent business event in Doha, former U.S. President Donald Trump made strong remarks directed at Apple CEO Tim Cook, expressing disapproval over the tech giant’s manufacturing expansion in India.
“I told Tim Cook, my friend, I’m treating you very well. You’re bringing in $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India,” Trump said. “I don’t want you building in India. You can build there if you want to take care of India—because India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world. It’s very hard to sell there.”
Trump also claimed that India has proposed a deal to eliminate tariffs on American goods. However, no official statement or confirmation from the Indian government has been made. “They offered us a deal where they would charge literally no tariffs,” Trump asserted, adding, “I told Tim, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years. Now, we are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves.”
These remarks come at a time when Apple is rapidly expanding its manufacturing footprint in India as part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on China amid trade tensions. Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly said that the company expects “a majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. will have India as their country of origin.”
Apple currently operates three manufacturing facilities in India—two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka—run by partners Foxconn and the Tata Group. Two additional plants are in development.
In the last financial year ending March, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India, marking a 60% increase in local production compared to the previous year.
Trump’s comments could pose challenges to Apple’s India strategy, especially as the country emerges as a critical hub in the company’s global supply chain.
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