Trump’s comments caused Apple shares to drop over 2.5% in premarket trading.
Apple is aiming to supply a significant share of US iPhones from India by 2026.
Foxconn and Tata are expanding production capacity in India with new plants.
US President Donald Trump has warned Apple CEO Tim Cook and company to stop manufacturing iPhones in India or anywhere else. He also stated that, if the company continues to do so, Apple will have to pay a 25 per cent tariff to the government. Soon after Trump posted the warning, the shares of Apple slumped by over 2.5% in premarket trading.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US,” he added.
However, it still remains unclear if Trump can levy tariffs on a single company. For the unversed, the company has been considering India as an alternative manufacturing hub amid Trump’s huge tariffs on China, Taiwan, and Vietnam to eliminate the rising supply-chain concerns and fears of higher iPhone prices or profit cuts.
Previously Trump stated he had asked Tim Cook to increase their production in the United States as he didn’t want the company to make their manufacturing infrastructure in the Indian market.
On the other hand, Apple was planning to source a major chunk of US iPhone supply from India by 2026. The majority of iPhones made in India are assembled at Foxconn’s factory in southern India, with Tata Group emerging as a key supplier after acquiring Wistron’s local operations and managing Pegatron facilities. Tata and Foxconn are both investing in new plants to increase production capacity. In the fiscal year ending March 31, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India, a nearly 60% increase over the previous year.
Till now, Apple made most of its iPhones in China and has no smartphone production in the US.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
