Trump says ‘I have a little problem with my friend Tim Cook of Apple’

US President Donald Trump, while speaking publicly on Thursday, said he directly confronted Apple CEO Tim Cook over the company’s growing operations in India, calling out what he sees as a failure to prioritize American manufacturing.

According to CNBC, Trump said he reminded Tim that Apple had pledged a $500 billion investment in the United States, yet the tech giant continues to expand production outside the country.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said. “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.”

The President was referring to Apple’s public commitment made in February, which promised major investments and job creation across the US.

Trump’s issue isn’t just with where Apple has been, it’s about where the company is going next. Apple is now pushing to build 25% of all global iPhones in India within the next few years, pulling away from its longtime reliance on China, where 90% of iPhone production still happens today.

Trump told reporters:

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

Trump links Apple tensions to India trade talks

The confrontation between Trump and Tim happened against the backdrop of ongoing US-India trade negotiations, where Trump described India as “one of the highest tariff nations in the world.” He said New Delhi had offered Washington a new deal where “they are willing to literally charge us no tariff,” suggesting India is adjusting its trade policies to avoid tensions with the US

In April, under Trump’s renewed trade protectionist agenda, the White House introduced a “reciprocal tariff” of 26% on Indian goods. That rate has since been temporarily reduced and will remain lowered until July, but the administration is using it as leverage in discussions with India over trade and production.

Meanwhile, Apple’s plans in India are already moving. Its top assembly partner, Foxconn, was granted approval Monday by the Indian government to start building a semiconductor plant in a joint project with HCL Group, one of India’s tech giants.

Apple has spent decades building its supply chain infrastructure in China, but due to rising labor costs, political tension, and increasing production risk, it’s begun exploring alternatives in Vietnam and India. India’s government has welcomed the opportunity, offering land, subsidies, and policy incentives to Apple’s partners.

Despite Trump’s push, moving full production to the US is widely considered financially unrealistic. Estimates show that if Apple made iPhones entirely in the US, the retail cost could land anywhere between $1,500 and $3,500. That massive price jump would likely alienate consumers and hurt Apple’s sales margins.

Apple currently manufactures only a few products on US soil. One of those is the Mac Pro, which is assembled in Texas. In February, Apple also revealed it would build a new server production facility—also in Texas—for Apple Intelligence, the company’s artificial intelligence system.

Trump didn’t provide specific numbers or timelines regarding Apple’s future US operations, but claimed that the company is now going to be “upping” domestic production. Apple has not released an official statement confirming this. CNBC said it has reached out to Apple for comment, but no reply has been issued so far.