Trump says he doesn’t want Apple building products in India: ‘I had a little problem with Tim Cook’

WASHINGTON - President Trump said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he doesn’t want tech giant building its products in India. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said. “I don’t want you building in India.”

The comments at a business event Qatar come as Trump said India had agreed to effectively drop all tariffs on U.S. goods as part of a potential trade deal.

Trump had previously suggested that a ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan following a bout of recent violence between the two was predicated on a trade truce.

Apple has been ramping up production in India with the aim of making around 25% of global iPhones in the country in the next few years as it looks to reduce reliance on China.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he doesn’t want the tech giant to build its products in India, taking shots at the company’s moves to diversify production away from China and urging him to pivot Stateside.

“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,” adding that "India can take care of themselves."

Trump was referencing Apple’s commitment of a $500 billion investment in the U.S. which was announced in February.

Apple has been ramping up production in India with the aim of making around 25% of global iPhones in the country in the next few years, as it looks to reduce reliance on China, where around 90% of its flagship smartphone is currently assembled.

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