Trump warns Apple of 25% tariff on iPhones made in India or abroad
Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Friday warned that Apple could face a 25% tariff if it manufactures iPhones in “India or anyplace else.”
He said he had already made his expectations clear to Apple CEO Tim Cook, stressing that iPhones sold in the US should be produced domestically.
The warning comes as the tech giant aims to manufacture most of the iPhones sold in the US from India by the end of next year.
Earlier, speaking at a business event in Doha, Trump strongly objected Tim Cook's plans to expand production of the brand's products in India, flagging the tariff issue.
"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."
"They (India) 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."
Apple and its major suppliers have been shifting operations away from China—an effort that accelerated following pandemic-induced disruptions and rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China.
Cook has aimed at relocating Apple's manufacturing from China, after it was hit by Trump's tariff war.
Amid Apple’s growing focus on expanding production in India, Foxconn, the primary assembler of Apple iPhones globally, recently injected $1.5 billion into its Indian subsidiary.
Apple, whose products' demand has shot up in India over the years, currently has three plants- two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka- in the South Asian country.
While Foxconn operates one of the three plants, India's Tata Group controls the rest. Two more plants of the American tech giant are on the way to be built in India.
Trump’s Friday's post also referenced Apple’s earlier announcement from February, in which the company pledged to invest $500 billion in the United States.
Speaking during Apple’s first-quarter earnings call in early May, Tim Cook stated, “A majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin.”
Apple has been significantly ramping up production in India, targeting to manufacture roughly 25% of its global iPhones there in the coming years.
This move is aimed at reducing reliance on China, where nearly 90% of its flagship devices are currently assembled.
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