Apple iPhone production plant building in India is Donald Trump, the president of the US’s, next target. He asked Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook to stop planting the products in India to create devices for the US market. His request aimed at forcing Apple to increase domestic production as part of a move away from China manufacturing.
Trump , during his conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook in Qatar, expressed his disapproval of Apple providing facilities in India and said, “I don’t want you building in India.” As a result of his conversation, Trump suggested that Apple would increase its production in the United States; however, Apple representatives in India did not respond to the request.
Furthermore, Trump’s statements have potentially disrupted Apple plans to move iPhone production from China to India for United States markets by the end of the following year. This change was intended to lower risks associated with tariffs and geopolitical tension. While Apple is currently manufacturing most of its iPhones in China and owns not a single US production, the company has committed to boosting domestic hiring and investing $500 billion in the United States over the next 4 years.
Building Apple iPhone production in the US from scratch will be significantly expensive for even the cash-rich Apple company. Due to his labor and manufacturing costs. For years, the iPhone supply chain and skilled labor have been primarily situated in China. Apple, however, recently started to establish his location in India. Because India is becoming one of Apple’s fastest-growing markets, with a vast customer range eager to buy its products, and the Indian government provides subsidies to support assembly expansion.
According to Tarun Pathak, the research director, Trump’s tactic involves forcing Apple to localize its many productions and build the supply chain within the United States. Although Pathak said that this transition won’t happen immediately and that manufacturing in the United States would be more expensive than assembling in India. Apple and its suppliers have been shifting from China, the 2nd largest economy. This move was initiated when COVID-19 lockdowns disrupted productions and later Trump imposed tariffs and the tension between both countries.
Moreover, iPhone facilities in India now produce over 40 million units yearly, about 20% of the total output of Apple. On the other hand, Trump advocates for iPhone production in the United States, which lacks domestic talents in manufacturing and engineering, making this impractical in the near term. The US president, Donald Trump, mentioned that India had offered to lower import taxes on goods from the United States; however, having high tariff barriers makes it difficult to sell US products in India.
Moreover, most iPhones produced in India are assembled at Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in southern India and at Tata Group. Both companies are expanding their operations by building new plants and increasing the capacity of products in southern India. Bloomberg reports that Apple assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India annually, making an increase of 60% in production.
