Trump Hits Out at Tim Cook for Expanding Production in India | 'Don't Want You Building In India'

On Thursday, former U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed that he expressed his disapproval to Apple CEO Tim Cook over the company's move to shift production to India. Criticizing Apple’s strategy to reduce dependence on China, Trump urged Cook to focus on U.S.-based manufacturing instead.

“I had a bit of an issue with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump stated. “I told him, ‘I’ve treated you well. You’re bringing $500 billion here, but now I’m hearing you’re expanding operations in India. I don’t want that.’”

Trump’s comments refer to Apple’s prior commitment to invest $500 billion in the U.S. At the same time, Apple is steadily increasing iPhone production in India, with plans to manufacture around 25% of its global output there in the near future nup from its current reliance on China, which handles approximately 90% of iPhone assembly.