US President Donald Trump has warned Apple to make iPhones in America only. If they make them in India or any other country, a 25% tariff will be imposed on the phones sold in America.
Highlights
US President Donald Trump recently said that the iPhones that will be sold in America should be made in America and not in India or any other country. He warned that if this does not happen, Apple will have to pay a tariff of at least 25 percent on every iPhone in America. Trump himself has said this to Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier, and now he has reiterated it again publicly with emphasis.
Trump's thinking behind this statement is that American companies should make products in their own country, so that jobs increase there and money does not go out. But companies like Apple get iPhones made in countries like China and India, because the labor here is cheap and a better supply chain is also available for manufacturing.
India is becoming a new and important manufacturing center for Apple. A Taiwanese company called Foxconn makes iPhones in Tamil Nadu, and Tata Electronics is also helping in this. Currently, about 4 crore iPhones are made in India every year, which is about 15 percent of Apple's total production. Not only this, iPhones made in India are also being sent to America and other countries.
What does Trump want, after all?Recently Trump made it clear that if Apple wants to manufacture in India, it can do so for India, but the iPhones made there should not be sold in the US. This may affect Apple's plans, because the company wants to make India a big manufacturing hub by reducing its dependence on China.
The Indian government has also taken this issue seriously. As soon as Trump's statement came, Indian officials spoke to Apple and the company assured that its investment in India will continue and it wants to make India a big manufacturing hub for its products.
What did Tim Cook say?Apple CEO Tim Cook has already said that most of the iPhones sold in the US in the June quarter will be manufactured in India. This strategy is clashing with Trump's statements. After this statement, it remains to be seen what changes Apple makes in its strategy. Will it listen to Trump, or will it continue manufacturing in India.
