Donald Trump warns Apple of 25% tariff if iPhones are made in 'India or anyplace else'

Donald Trump said that he informed Apple CEO Tim Cook that iPhones sold in America are to be built within the country and not in India or any other country.

Updated on: May 23, 2025, 19:38:06 IST

By HT News Desk

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US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Apple will have to pay a 25 per cent tariff if phones sold in the country are not made within the country.

US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Bloomberg)

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he informed Apple CEO Tim Cook that iPhones sold in America are to be built within the country and not in India or any other country.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump wrote in the post.

“If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US,” he added.

Also Read | Donald Trump's ‘little problem with Tim Cook’ is a big one for Apple

According to Bloomberg, US equity futures dropped to session lows after Trump’s announcement, with Nasdaq 100 contracts leading the decline. Apple shares also sank 4 per cent.

Over the past five years, India has emerged as one of the biggest manufacturing hubs of Apple iPhones, with the company's assembly lines in the country churning out smartphones worth $22 billion in 12 months last financial year.

Also Read | Apple likely to lean on India as tariffs force shift away from China

The US-based company produced 60 per cent more iPhones in India compared to the previous year.

Apple has been positioning India as an alternative manufacturing base amid Trump's tariffs on China that have raised supply-chain concerns and fears of higher iPhone prices, Reuters reported last month.

Trump's advice to Apple CEO Tim Cook

Last week, US President Donald Trump said that he had asked Apple CEO Tim Cook not to move Apple iPhone production to India and focus on manufacturing in America.

Trump, who has upended global markets with his tariff offensive, said in Qatar that he doesn't want Cook to "build in India". "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," he said, adding Apple will be "upping their production in the United States".

In February, Apple had announced that it will spend more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years and hire 20,000 staff.

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HT News Desk
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