Speaking in Doha, Qatar, the U.S. President stated that he told Apple CEO Tim Cook he doesn’t want the company to build factories in India unless it’s specifically to serve the Indian market. According to Bloomberg, the former President said of his conversation with Cook, “Told Apple CEO Tim Cook we’re not interested in you building in India, they can take care of themselves.”
He also indicated that Apple would be “upping their production in the United States” as a result of their discussion.
CNBC-TV18 reported the President saying, “I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good… but now I hear you are building all over India. I don’t want you building in India… India has offered us a deal where basically they have agreed to charge us literally no tariffs.”
The President, at a business event in Qatar, added, “We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves. India has offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff.”
Reuters reported last month that Apple aims to manufacture the majority of its iPhones sold in the U.S. in India by the end of 2026, accelerating these plans due to potential higher tariffs in China. Currently, about 80% of the over 60 million iPhones sold annually in the U.S. are made in China.
While manufacturing costs are currently 5-10% higher in India than in China, Apple has already increased its Indian production, shipping $2 billion worth of iPhones (600 tons) to the U.S. in March, a record for its contractors Tata and Foxconn.
In April, the U.S. administration imposed lower duties on imports from India (26%) compared to China (over 100% at the time), although most duties are currently paused for three months, except for China.
In 2024, Apple manufactured approximately 40-45 million iPhones in India (18-20% of global output), with about 14-15 million exported to the U.S.
During an earnings call earlier this month, Cook stated that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the June quarter are expected to originate from India, while Vietnam is projected to be the primary origin for most iPads, MacBooks, Apple Watches, and AirPods sold in the U.S. China is expected to remain the main production hub for products sold outside the U.S.
