President Donald Trump just sent a clear message to Apple CEO Tim Cook: enough with the Made-in-India iPhones—how about some Made-in-USA for once?
According to Bloomberg, Trump had a not-so-friendly chat with Tim Cook recently, and let’s just say he wasn’t thrilled about Apple’s expanding production in India. While visiting Qatar, Trump said, “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. He is building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”
Trump says he doesn’t want Apple building products in India, wants production in U.S.
"I had a little problem with Tim Cook." pic.twitter.com/4EdkHJSczu
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) May 15, 2025
Mic drop.
Apple’s been shifting iPhone production out of China and into India faster than liberals shifting blame. It’s all part of the company’s grand strategy to dodge tariffs and geopolitical headaches. Right now, nearly all iPhones are made in China, and not a single one is built on U.S. soil. That’s right—zero. Nada. Zilch.
But after Trump’s chat with Cook, it sounds like things might be changing. Trump claimed Apple will now be “upping their production in the United States.” And while that sounds great, the truth is, bringing iPhone manufacturing to America won’t be a walk in the park.
Thanks to years of cozying up to China, Apple’s supply chain is practically superglued there. And now that India is the rebound country, the U.S. is like the ex trying to get a second chance.
Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint, basically confirmed the struggle, saying, “He wants to push Apple to localize more and build a supply chain in the U.S., which is not going to happen overnight. Making in the U.S. will also be much more expensive than assembling iPhones in India.”
Translation: Tim Cook’s going to need more than a Trump tweet to turn this ship around.
Still, Trump isn’t being totally inflexible. He said, “You can build in India if you want, to take care of India.” In other words—if you’re selling to India, fine. But don’t forget who made Apple great again: American consumers.
Trump also took time to bring up tariff talks with India. He noted that the country, which has one of the highest import tax rates in the world, is finally willing to play ball. India reportedly offered to cut those insane tariffs that make it nearly impossible to sell U.S. goods over there. Finally.
Meanwhile, Apple’s Indian production is booming. In just the last year, the company assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India—a 60% jump from the year before. Foxconn and Tata Group are leading the charge, cranking out iPhones like hotcakes in southern India.
But here’s the bottom line: Trump isn’t buying the globalism spin. He wants American tech made by American hands. And for a guy who ran on “America First,” he’s making it crystal clear—Apple better start showing up for the home team.