Trump’s remarks come amid escalating US-India trade tensions, with India recently threatening retaliatory tariffs over increased US duties on steel and aluminium. However, bilateral trade talks are still underway
Published May 15, 2025 | 4:42 PM ⚊ Updated May 15, 2025 | 4:42 PM
Donald Trump claims he urged Apple CEO not to expand manufacturing in India
Synopsis: During a speech in Doha, US President Donald Trump claimed he asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop expanding manufacturing in India and focus on US production. Trump said Apple agreed to increase domestic output but gave no details on changes to India plans. His comments come amid Apple’s ongoing shift from China to India for manufacturing
US President Donald Trump has claimed he personally urged Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt expansion of the company’s manufacturing operations in India, asserting that Apple should instead focus on producing more within the United States.
Speaking at a business event in Doha during his Middle East tour, Trump said, “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday… He is building all over India. I don’t want you building in India. India can take care of itself.”
Trump claimed the conversation led to Apple agreeing to increase its US production, although he offered no specific details about any changes to Apple’s India plans.
Donald Trump in Doha : Told Apple CEO Tim Cook, we’re not interested in you building in India, they can take care of themselves.. pic.twitter.com/4FTbvEtXsv
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 15, 2025
The statement comes at a sensitive time, as Apple is actively scaling up its India manufacturing footprint, seen as a key strategy to diversify away from China amid geopolitical tensions and tariff challenges.
Apple currently operates three manufacturing facilities in India — two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka — run by Foxconn and Tata Group. Two more plants are reportedly in the pipeline.
In the last fiscal year ending March, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India — a 60 percent surge from the previous year — and CEO Tim Cook recently stated he expects a majority of iPhones sold in the US to be manufactured in India in the near future.
Trump’s comments also follow rising trade tensions between the US and India. Just days earlier, India threatened retaliatory tariffs in response to US hikes on steel and aluminium duties. Despite this, trade negotiations between the two countries remain ongoing.
In a surprising claim made during the same Doha speech, Trump said India had offered to remove tariffs on U.S. goods. “They are willing to literally charge us no tariff,” he said, without elaborating on the alleged proposal.
The development also comes in the wake of Trump’s controversial assertion that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan — a claim New Delhi has firmly denied.
(Compiled by Ananya Rao)
