Apple ‘Assures’ No Disruption After Trump Warns Tim Cook on India Expansion

Apple has assured the Indian government that there will be no change in its investment plans in India, CNBC-TV18 said, citing sources. 

During a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, on May 15, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his disapproval of Apple’s increasing manufacturing presence in India. He pushed the iPhone maker to build domestically and create jobs in the country.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday…You are coming here (US) with $500 billion, and you are building all over India. I don’t want you to build in India,” Trump said.  “You can build in India, if you want to take care of India.”  

In February, the iPhone maker announced its largest-ever spending commitment, planning to invest over $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years to advance high-skilled manufacturing and support a wide range of initiatives that focus on artificial intelligence, silicon engineering, and skills development for students and workers across the country.

Faced with tariffs on goods from China, Apple mitigated the potential financial impact by successfully shifting its U.S. import sources to other regions, like India. The country offers a favourable environment for manufacturing due to its supportive policies and the presence of a skilled workforce

According to data from Counterpoint Research, about 16% of the iPhones made globally for Apple last year were assembled in India. Counterpoint Research vice president Neil Shah estimates the proportion will reach 20% this year. 

“All the stars are aligned for India to be the alternate destination to China,” Shah said. “If you look at Apple’s manufacturing strategy for iPhones, it has mostly been countries where they get benefits on manufacturing: geographical advantage, government incentives and costs, and where they have good domestic demand.”

Meanwhile, according to an ET report, Apple's wholesale revenues in India from iPhones climbed 28% to $2.53-2.92 billion in the March quarter of 2025, driven by record sales. 

At the Doha event, Trump further said that India was one of the highest-tariff nations in the world and that it was tough to sell in India. “But now they’ve offered us a deal where they are willing to charge no tariff, literally,” he said. 

Reacting to this, India’s foreign minister, S Jaishankar, stated that any trade deal must be mutually beneficial, and until that is achieved, any judgment will be premature.