Trump Urges Apple to Halt iPhone Production Expansion in India

Prime Highlights

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook was asked by Donald Trump to discontinue producing iPhones in India and keep manufacturing in the US.
Apple is gradually boosting iPhone production in India to reduce its supply chain dependence on China.

Key Facts

India now produces close to 20% of Apple’s worldwide iPhone manufacturing, and projections show it will be over 35% by 2026.
Apple invested $500 billion in the United States with 20,000 added jobs and a new AI factory in Houston.

Key Background

In a recent foreign visit, Apple encountered a public display of dissatisfaction by former American President Donald Trump against Apple’s increasing iPhone manufacturing in India. He said he had “a little problem” with Apple CEO Tim Cook, noting that he himself instructed Cook to have iPhones bound for the U.S. be manufactured on American soil—and not elsewhere. Trump pointed out that Apple has already pledged to invest $500 billion in the U.S. and that he is expecting the tech giant to live up to that promise through additional domestic manufacturing.

Apple has been operating behind the scenes to relocate a significant share of its iPhone-making business to India as part of wider play to limit reliance on China. The decision has been made necessary by perpetual geopolitical tensions, the latest between the U.S. and China. With up to 20% of Apple iPhones already being produced in India, the firm is set to double that to more than 35% by 2026 with a focus on units destined for Western markets.

India has emerged as an important manufacturing base for Apple based on low costs, government-provided subsidies, and enhanced competence in electronics manufacturing. Foreign technology firms are being actively wooed by the Indian government through subsidies and relaxation in foreign investment rules. Apple has dispersed manufacturing in cities like Chennai and Bengaluru with large contract makers like Foxconn.

Despite Trump’s efforts to bring manufacturing to America, specialists feel that it would be a tremendous undertaking. Apple’s current Asian supply chain is well established and has efficiencies and specialized labor that might be hard to recreate locally. Symbolic gestures to America might happen but specialists feel that a mass shift away from India is not imminent due to economic and logistical benefits that it possesses.