Trump tells Apple’s CEO to stop expanding iPhone production in India

Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the institution would commencement importing iPhones manufactured successful India to conscionable the majority of request stateside. It seems U.S. President Donald Trump is not blessed with that.

Speaking astatine a concern acme successful Doha, Trump said helium met with Cook and asked him to halt gathering successful India and alternatively summation accumulation successful the United States.

“I said to him, ‘Tim, you’re my friend, I’ve treated you precise good. You’re coming up with $500 billion, but present I perceive you are gathering each implicit India. I don’t privation you gathering successful India. You tin physique successful India, if you privation to instrumentality attraction of India due to the fact that India is 1 of the highest tariff nations successful the world’,” Trump said.

Trump, who has been connected a tariff violative against astir of the world, said Apple would present beryllium “upping” accumulation successful the U.S., though helium didn’t springiness a timeline oregon immoderate specifics.

Apple did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Earlier this year, Apple said that it would walk $500 cardinal implicit the adjacent 4 years to grow manufacturing successful the U.S. by mounting up facilities successful assorted locations, opening caller units, hiring implicit 20,000 people, and opening a manufacturing academy.

Trump’s comments travel a time aft India approved a $435 cardinal Foxconn project to manufacture Apple chips successful the country. The institution has had ambitious plans to ramp up accumulation successful India and make alternate manufacturing units that trim its reliance connected China.

A Bloomberg study successful April suggested Apple already produces 20% of its iPhones successful India. At the time, the Financial Times besides reported that Apple planned to import each iPhones sold successful the U.S. from India by 2026.