

Photo: iStock / nemanjazotovic
President Donald Trump is pressuring Apple CEO Tim Cook to reconsider the company's plans to shift its iPhone production into India.
Speaking in Qatar on May 15, Trump described how he had a "little problem" with Cook, The Guardian reports, adding he doesn't want Apple expanding its presence in India, especially in light of the company's pledge to invest $500 billion in its U.S. manufacturing capacity over the next five years.
“We’re not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves — we want you to build here," Trump said.
Apple manufactures roughly 90% of its iPhones in China, but revealed plans in March to source the vast majority of phones sold in the U.S. from India by the end of 2026. India has long been an attractive alternative to China for Apple, given the relative proximity between the two countries geographically, India's supply of cheap labor, and its more favorable diplomatic relationship with the U.S. Apple has also long sought to grow sales of smartphones in India, too. IPhones imported from China to India are subject to tariffs that have made the devices prohibitively expensive for most of its population of billions.
Despite Trump's push to have Apple move its iPhone production into the U.S., financial experts have warned that doing so would come with substantial costs, both for Apple and American consumers. Although estimates have varied, Bank of America securities analyst Wamsi Mohan told CNBC in April that the price of a "Made in the USA" iPhone could increase 25% from added labor costs alone. On the higher end of the spectrum, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives predicted that an America-made iPhone could cost as much as $3,500, and that Apple would need to spend $30 billion over three years to move just 10% of its supply chain to the U.S.
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