Doha/New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) Even as India and the US are nearing a trade deal, US President Donald Trump has claimed that New Delhi has offered a deal wherein “basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff’. He also said he has told Apple CEO Tim Cook “not to build in India”.
Speaking in Doha, Qatar, the US President reiterated his allegation that India charges the US very high tariffs.
“Apple is coming in (to the US). I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, my friend, I’ve treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now he is 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 one of the highest tariff nations in the world. It is very hard to sell in India.
“And they’ve offered us a deal where they’re basically willing to literally charge us no tariff,” the US President claimed, even as both sides are negotiating a free trade deal.
“So you go from the highest tariff -- you couldn’t do business in India, we’re not even in the top 30 in India, because the tariff is so high-- to a point where they’ve actually told us, that there will be no tariff. They were the highest, and now they are saying no tariff.”
Again, referring to the Apple CEO, he said:
“And I told Tim, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants you up in China, for years, and now you gotta build us. We’re not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves; they’re doing very well; we want you to build here. They’re going to be upping their production in the US. So, Apple is already in for $500 billion,” the US President said.
The US President’s comments on Apple come as the tech giant has said that India would play a major role in making iPhones for the US market.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month: “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.”
The US tech giant has been shifting production for US-bound products, particularly iPhones, from its long-time Chinese hub to emerging centres in India and Vietnam.
According to reports, Apple has increased its exports from India to the United States. In April 2025, the value of Apple exports reached over Rs 17,219 crore ($2,029,796,382), an increase of 116% compared to April 2024.
According to another report, 97.6% of total iPhone exports from India in March went to the United States, up from 81.9% between December and February.
UNI RN