Trump says he has ‘a little problem’ with Tim Cook over Apple making iPhones in India, not the US

In comments to press this morning, President Donald Trump said he has an issue with Apple’s handling of the tariff policy in regard to iPhone production.

Trump wants Apple to build iPhones domestically in the United States, but has clearly seen the recent news that Apple will source most of the iPhones sold in the US quarter from India, rather than China.

It has been reported that within the next couple of years Apple is trying to import all iPhones intended to be sold in the US, from India, rather than China, in a diversification of its production pipeline. Right now, that means avoiding the higher tariff rates imposed on Chinese exports.

Indeed, on the latest company earnings call, Apple said most iPhones sold in the June quarter will have India as their country of origin.

Naturally, the Trump administration see the tariff policy as a way to incentivize companies to manufacture more locally, and Apple has so far shown no signs of doing so. Cook has previously indicated it is simply unfeasible, due to the lack of U.S. manufacturing facilities and talent.

Here’s what Trump said:

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”

“I said, Tim look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years, now you got build us. We’re not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves, we want you to build here.”