Build plants in India, but you’ll have to pay tariffs to sell in US: Trump warns Apple again

US President Donald Trump has said it is okay for Apple to go to India to build its plants, but then the tech company will not be able to sell its products in America without tariffs.

Trump's remarks came as he signed multiple executive orders in the Oval Office to boost US nuclear power.

“…But I had an understanding with Tim (Cook) that he wouldn't be doing this. He said he's going to India to build plants. I said, ‘That's okay to go to India, but you're not going to sell into here without tariffs.’ And that's the way it is,” Trump said on Friday (May 23).

“We're talking about the iPhone. If they're going to sell it in America, I want it to be built in the United States,” he said.

Threat of 25 pc tariff

Early on Friday, Trump said in a social media post that he expects Apple iPhones that will be sold in the US to be manufactured in America and “not India, or anyplace else”, threatening to put a 25 per cent tariff on the tech company’s products if it does not comply.

“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. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the US. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said.

Also Read: Make iPhones in US, 'not India' or face 25% tariff: Trump threatens Apple

Just last week, Trump had said in Doha during his visit to the Middle East that he had told the Apple CEO to not build in India and instead build its manufacturing capacity in the US.

“We have Apple, as you know, that's coming in, and I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump had said in Doha in remarks to top executives. “I said to him, ‘Tim, you're my friend. I treated you very good. You're coming here with USD 500 billion but now I hear you building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India if you want to take care of India because India is the highest, one of the highest tariff nations in the world. It's very hard to sell into India. And they've (India) offered us a deal where, basically they're willing to literally charge us no tariff," he had said.

India, Vietnam – countries of origin

Earlier this month, Cook had said in a Q2 2025 Earnings Conference call that the existing tariffs that apply to Apple today are based on the product's country of origin.

Also Read: Trump calls back Apple to US; will India be caught in the crossfire?

"For the June quarter, we do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin and Vietnam to be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods products sold in the US,” Cook had said.

‘Familiar Trump tactic’

On Trump calling for Apple to shift iPhone production from India to the US, research firm Counterpoint Research Research Director Tarun Pathak had said last week that "this is a familiar Trump tactic: He wants to push Apple to localise more and build a supply chain in the US, which is not going to happen overnight. Making in the US will also be much more expensive than assembling iPhones in India.”

Counterpoint Research Vice President Neil Shah said that Apple has been doing a lot of groundwork in India, which has helped it successfully manage some of the US iPhone demand from its India production facilities.

Also Read: What do Apple and India lose if assembly moves to the US?

“In terms of capacity, India has enough to potentially meet all US iPhone demand in the future, but the ecosystem needs to be ramped up. We will see more efforts towards this as well as products beyond iPhones. We expect made-in-India iPhones to account for 25-30 per cent of global iPhone shipments in 2025, as compared to 18 per cent in 2024.”

(With agency inputs)