Trump says he doesn't want Apple building products in India: 'I had a little problem with Tim Cook'

U.S. President Donald Trump connected Thursday said helium told Apple CEO Tim Cook that helium doesn't privation the tech elephantine to physique its products successful India, taking shots astatine the company's moves to diversify accumulation distant from China and urging him to pivot stateside.

"I had a small occupation with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said. "I said to him, 'my friend, I treated you precise good. You're coming present with $500 billion, but present I perceive you're gathering each implicit India.' I don't privation you gathering successful India."

Trump was referencing Apple's committedness of a $500 cardinal investment successful the U.S. which was announced successful February.

Apple has been ramping up accumulation successful India with the purpose of making astir 25% of planetary iPhones successful the state successful the adjacent fewer years, arsenic it looks to trim reliance connected China, wherever astir 90% of its flagship smartphone is presently assembled.

"I said to Tim, I said, 'Tim look, we treated you truly good, we enactment up with each the plants that you physique successful China for years, present you got physique us. We're not funny successful you gathering successful India, India tin instrumentality attraction of themselves ... we privation you to physique here,'" Trump said.

The U.S. president added that Apple is going to beryllium "upping" its accumulation successful the United States, without disclosing further details.

CNBC has reached retired to Apple.

Trump made the comments astir the U.S. tech elephantine portion discussing Washington's broader commercialized relations with India.

Trump said India is "one of the highest tariff nations successful the world," adding the state has offered a woody to the U.S. wherever "they are consenting to virtually complaint america nary tariff."

Under the White House's commercialized protectionist policies revealed successful April, Trump has imposed a alleged reciprocal tariff of 26% connected Indian goods, which has been temporarily lowered until July.

Apple's main assembly spouse successful India, Foxconn, received approval from the Indian authorities connected Monday to physique a semiconductor works successful the state successful a associated task with HCL Group.

Apple has spent decades gathering up its proviso concatenation successful China, but has looked to different countries similar Vietnam and India to grow its accumulation capacity.

But experts mostly hold that moving accumulation of the iPhone to the U.S. would beryllium highly improbable due to the fact that of the last terms of the extremity product. Varying estimates enactment the outgo of an iPhone betwixt $1,500 to $3,500, if it were made successful the U.S.

Apple presently makes precise fewer products successful the U.S. Currently, the Cupertino, California, elephantine produces the Mac Pro successful the U.S. In February, it announced it would motorboat a manufacturing installation successful Texas to nutrient servers for Apple Intelligence, its artificial quality system.