NEW DELHI: In a move that could jeopardize India’s ambitions to become a hub for iPhone manufacturing, US President Donald Trump said he has asked Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook to stop producing iPhones in the country.
The US President made the remarks during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, as part of his Middle East tour.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. 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. I don’t want you building in India. 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,” said Trump.
His statement came after Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on May 2 that the majority of iPhones to be sold in the United States during the June 2025 quarter (April to June) will be manufactured in India.
Notably, Trump had on Monday claimed that the US used trade as leverage to broker peace between India and Pakistan.
“We helped a lot, and we also helped with trade. I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,’” Trump had claimed referring to US discussions with India and Pakistan.
Speaking during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Cook also noted that China would remain the primary manufacturing base for most Apple products sold outside the US. The shift to India is believed to be driven by lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian-made products compared to those from China and Vietnam.
Currently, China dominates global phone production, accounting for 76.6% of total supply. Vietnam contributes 9.9%, India 8.4%, and South Korea 1.2%.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, 81.9% of iPhones exported from India between December 2024 and February 2025 were shipped to the U.S. In March 2025, that figure surged to 97.6% following a 219% jump in exports—likely a result of Apple expediting shipments ahead of expected U.S. tariffs.
Meanwhile, Apple sold 75.9 million iPhones in the U.S. in 2024. In March alone, exports from India amounted to approximately 3.1 million units.
Trump further claimed that India has agreed to eliminate tariffs on US goods exported to the country.
“They ( India) has offered us a deal where basically they have agreed to charge us literally no tariffs. 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,” said the US President.
India is currently in trade negotiations with the US. The Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is in advanced stage of negotiations. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is slated to visit the US on 17 May for the trade talks.
“India–US trade deal may be on the cards, with Trump saying India has agreed to cut tariffs on most goods. As Trump always blamed India’s high tariffs for the trade deficit, India could offer to make 90% of US exports tariff-free from day one, using a "zero-for-zero" approach—cutting tariffs on all goods except autos and agriculture. But the deal must ensure strict reciprocity, with both sides eliminating tariffs equally,” Ajay Srivastava, founder GTRI, said.