Donald Trump Urges Apple CEO Not To Manufacture In India: 'Tim, We Are Treating You Really Good'

US President Donald Trump has reportedly told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he does not want him "building in India" and stated that "India can take care of themselves".

Speaking at a business gathering in Doha, the US President remarked that he had a "little problem" with Tim Cook.

Photo Credit: AP/PTI

"I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion, but now I hear you are 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, so it is very hard to sell in India," he said.

Trump also claimed that New Delhi had offered a trade deal to Washington, asserting that India would levy "literally no tariffs" on American goods - a claim that has not been officially confirmed by India.

"They (India) offered us a deal where basically they have agreed to charge us literally no tariffs. I said Tim, we are treating you really good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years. We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves," the President added.

He went on to say that Apple - whose iPhones and MacBooks are globally sought after - is set to expand production within the United States.

This apparent push by Donald Trump to dissuade Apple from manufacturing in India comes at a crucial moment, as the tech giant seeks to ramp up production in India and reduce its dependence on Chinese manufacturing, largely in response to Trump-era tariff measures.

Earlier this month, AFP reported that Tim Cook anticipated "a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin".

Apple currently operates three manufacturing units in India - two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka - with one run by Foxconn and the remaining two by the Tata Group. Plans for two additional Apple plants are also underway.

In the last financial year ending in March, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India, marking a 60% rise in production compared to the previous fiscal year.