Trump pressures Apple to 'return to the United States', opposes building factories in India, triggers supply chain focus

Asia Pacific Financial News
On May 15th local time, former US President Donald Trump stated in a speech that he has clearly expressed his opposition to Apple CEO Tim Cook's expansion of production layout in India and urged Apple to return more manufacturing processes to the US mainland. He pointed out that although Apple has promised to invest up to $500 billion in the United States, it is currently continuing to increase production capacity in India, which is "disappointing".

Trump said, "I had a conversation with Tim Cook yesterday. I told him, 'Tim, I have always supported you and been very tolerant of your company. But now I heard that you are building a factory in India, which doesn't meet our expectations.' I don't want you to build a factory in India, we want you to produce in the United States

The statement points to a major investment plan announced by Apple earlier this year, promising to invest approximately $500 billion in the United States over the next few years. Despite this, Apple continues to promote its "de Sinicization" strategy, gradually transferring production capacity for core products such as the iPhone to India. The latest data shows that Apple plans to transfer about 25% of iPhone production tasks to India within a few years, and currently nearly 90% of iPhones worldwide are still assembled by Chinese factories.

In his speech, Trump also pointed out, "In the past, we tolerated Apple setting up factories in China for many years. Now is the time to repay the American market and workers. India can take care of itself, and the United States is where Apple should focus on returning." He also mentioned that Apple "may expand production in the United States," but did not disclose specific details.

At present, Apple has not responded to media requests for comment on this matter.

It is worth mentioning that Apple's main contract manufacturing partner Foxconn just received approval from the Indian government this week to jointly build a semiconductor factory with HCL Group, which means that Apple's industrial chain layout in India is further deepening.

The background of Trump's speech this time is his concern about the US India trade relationship. He pointed out that India is one of the countries with the highest tariff levels in the world, but has recently expressed its intention to cooperate with the United States with zero tariffs. Previously, the United States imposed "equivalent tariffs" on some Indian exports at a rate of 26%, and this policy is currently suspended until July.

From the overall trend, Apple has gradually shifted its production capacity from China to India, Vietnam and other places in recent years to cope with the constantly changing international trade environment. However, most analyses believe that the possibility of large-scale production of high-end electronic products such as iPhone in the United States is still low. According to industry estimates, if the iPhone is fully manufactured in the United States, its terminal price may increase to between $1500 and $3500, seriously affecting its market competitiveness.

At present, Apple's manufacturing activities in the United States are mainly focused on a few high-end products. For example, its factory in Cupertino, California produces Mac Pro computers. In addition, in February of this year, Apple announced the establishment of a new production line in Texas to support the manufacturing of "Apple Intelligence" artificial intelligence servers.