Trump Tells Apple: Stop Making iPhones in India and Build Them Here Instead

This isn’t just casual presidential small talk. Apple’s manufacturing strategy has become increasingly India-focused, with the company already producing about 20% of its iPhones there and ambitious plans to bump that number to 25% in the coming years. The shift represents Apple’s deliberate move to reduce its decades-long dependence on China, where political tensions, tariffs, and COVID-related disruptions exposed the vulnerability of having most production eggs in one basket.

Caught in the rain without an umbrella? That’s essentially Apple’s position as it navigates competing demands from two economic powerhouses. On one side, Trump’s America-first manufacturing stance threatens to disrupt carefully laid supply chain diversification plans. On the other, India just approved a $435 million Foxconn project to manufacture Apple chips in the country, doubling down on its tech manufacturing ambitions.

If you’re wondering about the price tag of your next iPhone, this political tug-of-war matters more than you might think. Moving production to the US would almost certainly make your next device more expensive. Manufacturing costs in America dramatically exceed those in both India and China, with higher labor rates and facility expenses.