Donald Trump’s big claim on tariffs, Apple’s iPhone production: ‘Don’t want you building in India’

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that India has offered to remove all tariffs on American goods as part of negotiations to resolve disputes over import taxes.

Speaking at a business event in Qatar during a state visit, Trump said the Indian government “offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff,” without offering further details on the proposal.

Trump asserted that India maintains some of the world’s highest tariff barriers, making it challenging for US companies to penetrate the market of the planet’s most populous country.

The US President also revealed he had pressed Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook to stop the company’s manufacturing expansion in India, where Apple is diversifying production away from China.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said. “He is building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”

Trump claimed that, following their discussion, Apple would increase production in the United States, though he offered no specifics.

The comments complicate Apple’s strategy to shift iPhone manufacturing to India, where it aims to produce all 60 million iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of 2026.

The US is Apple’s largest market, representing 28% of its 232.1 million global iPhone shipments in 2024, according to International Data Corporation estimates.

Apple’s pivot to India accelerated after Trump’s tariff announcements, which erased nearly $700 billion from the company’s market value.

In March, Apple airlifted iPhones worth $2 billion from India to American cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, with Foxconn Technology Group exporting $1.31 billion and Tata Group’s electronics arm shipping $612 million, a 63% increase from February.

Foxconn’s factory in southern India assembles most India-made iPhones, including models 13, 14, 15, 16, and 16e, with cumulative US exports reaching $5.3 billion in 2025.

Tata, which acquired Wistron Corp.’s local operations and manages Pegatron Corp.’s India facilities, is also expanding production capacity alongside Foxconn.

While final assembly is shifting to India, Apple continues to rely on Chinese suppliers for components shipped to India due to persistent supply chain challenges.