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Now, Donald Trump drops “Apple” bombshell on India

Repeatedly taking credit of ceasefire between India and Pakistan to the discomfort of the Modi regime, U.S. President Donald Trump now said he had asked Apple CEO Tim Cook not to expand manufacturing in the country

Thursday May 15, 2025 11:44 PM, ummid.com News Network

Doha (Qatar): Repeatedly taking credit of ceasefire between India and Pakistan to the discomfort of the Modi regime, U.S. President Donald Trump now said he had asked Apple CEO Tim Cook not to expand manufacturing in the country.

Apple Setup in India

Apple has been assembling smartphones in India through contract manufacturers - Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn), Tata Electronics (formerly Wistron) and Pegatron, since 2017. Apple started assembling entry-level or legacy handsets. This changed in 2021-22 when it started assembling the iPhone 14 models in India.

Foxconn assembles a significant portion of iPhones in India, including the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models at its Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu.

Tata Electronics acquired Wistron's plant in Karnataka and also has a 60% stake in Pegatron's assembly line in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

"Don't build in India"

Few weeks ago, Tim Cook had announced to increase manufacturing in India to manifold, and also establishing new manufacturing units. Trump however said he “advised” the Apple CEO not to do so.

"I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion, but now I hear you are building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India, if you want to take care of India because India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world, so it is very hard to sell in India," Trump said while addressing a business event in Doha Qatar.

Trump is on a 3-day visit to Middle East. Trump started his Middle East trip with the first halt in Saudi Arabia from where he went to Qatar and then to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Trump also claimed that India offered a deal to the United States, committing it would charge no tariffs on the American goods.

"They (India) offered us a deal where basically they have agreed to charge us literally no tariffs. I said Tim, we are treating you really good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years. We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves," Trump said.

Outrage

Trump’s comment has sparked a huge outrage in India.

“Modi did everything Trump asked for. He cut tariffs to nearly zero for the United States. He even compromised our national interests in the fight against Pakistani terror when Trump made a call.

“Now, Trump is reportedly pushing Apple CEO Tim Cook to move the manufacturing operations Apple recently began in India elsewhere”, the Congress Party Kerala unit said Thursday.

Modi did everything Trump asked for. He cut tariffs to nearly zero for the United States. He even compromised our national interests in the fight against Pakistani terror when Trump made a call.

Now, Trump is reportedly pushing Apple CEO Tim Cook to move the manufacturing… pic.twitter.com/q9ifvYDpJM

— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) May 15, 2025

The Congress also said India’s foreign policy under the Modi government has “no substance” and was aimed solely at image building of PM Modi.

"Modi has visited the United States exactly 10 times, almost once every year. He has hugged Trump, Biden, and Trump again. We spent hundreds of crores organizing the "Namaste Trump" event, that too in the Narendra Modi Stadium, right in the middle of a global pandemic. Yet, all of this has yielded little to no tangible benefit for India. What a fall.

"This raises serious questions about Modi's so-called global vision. Was the entire ‘VishwaGuru’ narrative just a PR stunt meant for domestic consumption, with no real impact beyond Indian airspace?" Kerala Congress asked writing on social media platform X.

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