India Plays Down Trump’s ‘No iPhone-Making in India’ Remark, Confirms Apple’s Plans On Track
New Delhi, May 16, 2025 India has responded calmly to US President Donald Trump’s remarks made earlier today in Qatar, where he claimed to have urged Apple CEO Tim Cook not to expand manufacturing operations in India. According to sources in the Indian government, Apple’s investment strategy remains intact and India continues to offer strong value for global smartphone production.
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“Apple will realise the competitiveness and long-term benefit of manufacturing in India,” a senior government official said, emphasizing India’s emergence as a key player in global smartphone production.
Trump’s comments — that he told Cook, “I don’t want you building in India” — were dismissed by Apple insiders, who clarified that the company has no intention of altering its India investment strategy. Executives confirmed the planned expansion of production in India, including setting up a major facility to manufacture iPhones for the US market.
Currently, 15% of Apple’s global iPhone output already comes from India, and the company aims to ramp up that share significantly in the coming quarters.
Sources highlighted that Apple will continue to benefit from India’s robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem. With over ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of iPhones exported in FY25 alone, India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative is proving successful, especially in drawing investments away from China amid global supply chain shifts.
They added that investment decisions for companies like Apple are driven by competitiveness, not geopolitics, and Trump’s remarks are unlikely to impact the company’s sourcing strategy.
Trump, who is on a three-nation tour of West Asia, had claimed at a business forum in Qatar that Apple would be relocating production to the US. However, analysts say it would be extremely difficult and expensive to replicate the complex supply chains needed for Apple’s production within the US.
The company sold over 76 million iPhones in the US alone in 2024, and relocating those production lines entirely would cost tens of billions of dollars, analysts estimate.
The split in Apple’s sourcing plan—producing iPhones for the US in India and for other regions in China—is a strategic move to minimize the impact of tariffs amid the ongoing US-China trade war. This week, both countries agreed to a 90-day pause with mutual tariff reductions, but the long-term outlook remains uncertain.
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Apple, iPhone manufacturing, Donald Trump, Tim Cook, Make in India, Apple India investment, US-China trade war, India-US trade, Apple production strategy, Apple iPhone exports
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