Trump to Apple: ‘Don’t build in India unless it’s for India’

In a startling rebuke to Apple’s global manufacturing strategy, US President Donald Trump has claimed he personally warned CEO Tim Cook against expanding iPhone production in India — unless it is strictly for the Indian market. Trump also asserted that India had offered to “drop all tariffs” to attract US tech manufacturing, a move he implied undermines American interests.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said, speaking at a business forum following a US-Qatar meeting. “I said, ‘Tim, you’re my friend. I treated you very well. But now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India unless it’s to take care of India.’”

Trump’s comments land at a sensitive time for Apple, which has ramped up its India operations amid growing geopolitical tension and supply chain disruptions in China. Apple is expected to manufacture the majority of iPhones sold in the US from its Indian plants starting this quarter — a significant pivot from its longstanding reliance on China.

But the former president’s remarks may complicate that trajectory.

India’s rise, China’s pause

Trump’s remarks also serve as a flashpoint in the larger geopolitical chessboard of global manufacturing. Apple’s strategic shift to India was seen as a response to escalating U.S.-China tariffs — peaking at 145% — that forced American firms to reconsider supply chain dependencies. India emerged as the chief beneficiary, with Apple doubling down on local production and capturing billions in government subsidies.

The Indian government, however, maintains that Apple’s shift predates the tariff war and stems from its own aggressive policy push to become a global electronics hub. Through the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, India has disbursed nearly $1 billion in subsidies over three years, with Apple’s contractors — Foxconn, Tata Electronics (formerly Wistron and Pegatron) — sweeping up over 75% of the pool.

The truce that could tilt the scales

With US-China trade relations showing signs of easing, Apple’s India-centric production strategy now finds itself in a grey zone. The thaw could offer China tariff relief — possibly reversing incentives for US firms to diversify away. Though India has built capacity and policy momentum, it still faces stiff competition from China’s deep talent pool and advanced electronics infrastructure.

What remains uncertain is how companies like Apple will adapt if cost pressures ease in China. What’s increasingly clear, though, is that India’s ambitions — and subsidies — are now at the mercy of shifting global trade winds and Washington’s political rhetoric.

Trump’s blunt message to Apple is more than a manufacturing gripe — it’s a warning shot across the bow of India’s great electronics dream.