President Donald Trump has asked IPhone maker Apple to expand its production in the United States, and not in India, following the company’s decision to move its manufacturing of the smart phone from China to India.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump revealed in during his visit to Qatar, referring to his conversation with the Apple CEO.
Trump acknowledged Apple’s plan to invest $500 billion in the United States.
“I said to him, Tim, you’re my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now you’re building all over India,” the president said.
Pushing for more manufactturing investment in the United States, Trump noted, “India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well.”
Trump said Cook told him that Apple would be “upping their production in the United States.”
During his visit to the energy-rich Gulf states, Trump has been touting his Administration’s success in securing more than two trillion dollars in investment from Saudi, Qatari and U.A.E companiees.
As per reports Apple’s major supplier and manufacturing partner, Foxconn has secured New Delhi’s approval to build a $433 million semiconductor plant.
The plant is scheduled to begin its operations by 2027.
According to Forbes magazinet the Indian manufacturing sector is benefiting from the ongoing trade tensions between India and China, with Apple’s efforts to scale up iPhone production in India being an example.
Apple, one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue, has not commented on President Trump’s statements but it is believed to shift its I-Phone manufacturing to India to avoid the high U.S. tariffs placed on China.
Reports suggest that Apple could make the bulk of U.S.-bound iPhones in Indian factories by the end of 2026.
A Forbes report says in the 12 months ending March 2025, one in five Apple iPhones were made in India, accounting for $22 billion in revenue.
This represented a 60% addition to the previous year.
Huma Nisar is Associate Editor at Views and News. She also writes opinion articles on health, society and diet.
