President Donald Trump said Thursday that he told the Apple CEO, Tim Cook, that he does not want the technological giant to build his products in India, taking shooting to the company’s movements to diversify China’s production and urge him to pivot in the United States.
“Yesterday I had a small problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said. “I said: ‘Tim, you are my friend, I have treated you very well. You come here with $ 500 billion, but now I hear that you are building throughout India. I don’t want them to build you in India.'”
Trump was referring to Apple’s commitment to an investment of $ 500 billion in the US. UU. Which was announced in February.
Apple has been increasing production in India with the aim of making about 25% of global iPhones in the country in the coming years, since it seems to reduce the dependence of China, where around 90% of its intelligent badge is currently assembled.
“I told Tim, I said: ‘Tim, look, we have treated you really well, we have endured all the plants you built in China for years, now you have to build us. We are not interested in building in India, India can take care of it … we want them to build here,'” Trump said.
The president of the United States added that Apple will be “improving” its production in the United States, without revealing more details.
CNBC has communicated with Apple to comment.
Trump made the comments on the United States technological giant while arguing the broader commercial relations of Washington with India.
Trump said India is “one of the highest rates nations in the world,” and added that the country has offered an agreement to the United States where “they are willing to literally accuse us without rates.”
Under the white protectionist policies of the White House revealed in April, Trump has imposed a so -called 26% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, which has been temporarily reduced until July.
The main partner of the Apple Assembly in India, Foxconn, received on Monday the approval of the Indian government to build a semiconductor plant in the country in a joint business with HCl Group.
Apple has spent decades accumulating its supply chain in China, but has sought other countries such as Vietnam and India to expand its production capacity.
Experts generally agree that moving the production of the iPhone to the US. UU. It would be very unlikely due to the final price of the final product. Variable estimates put the cost of an iPhone between $ 1,500 to $ 3,500, if they were made in the US.
Currently, Apple manufactures very few products in the US, the Cupertino giant, California, produces the Mac Pro in the United States in February, announced that it would launch a manufacturing installation in Texas to produce servers for Apple Intelligence, its artificial intelligence system.
