Trump&rsquo;s Frustration With Tim Cook Signals Renewed Push to Bring Apple Manufacturing Back to U.S.
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At a high-profile business forum in Doha, former President Donald Trump reignited his campaign to restore America&rsquo;s manufacturing dominance&mdash;this time by taking direct aim at Apple CEO Tim Cook. Trump, speaking in his signature style of blunt nationalism, said he had a "little problem" with Cook's decision to deepen Apple&rsquo;s production ties with India, a move Trump sees as running counter to the spirit of his &ldquo;Make America Great Again&rdquo; (MAGA) manufacturing doctrine.
The former president disclosed that he personally urged Cook not to expand manufacturing in India, arguing that Apple should build for American consumers&nbsp;in America. According to Trump, Apple could manufacture in India if it was strictly to serve Indian markets&mdash;but not at the cost of jobs or industrial output on U.S. soil.
&ldquo;I told Tim, I don&rsquo;t want you building in India for us. That&rsquo;s not what we&rsquo;re about,&rdquo; Trump said. He went on to stress that India, despite being an important strategic partner, remains a protectionist market with some of the highest tariff walls globally. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very hard to sell in India,&rdquo; he noted, pointing out the long-standing asymmetry in market access between the two democracies.
What makes Trump&rsquo;s remarks more pointed is the context: he claimed, without confirmation from Indian officials, that New Delhi recently offered Washington a &ldquo;no-tariff deal&rdquo; on American goods&mdash;an overture that Trump says underscores India&rsquo;s desire to accommodate U.S. trade demands. Still, he appeared skeptical of India&rsquo;s sincerity and emphasized that favorable trade terms must translate into American industrial revival&mdash;not just overseas profit for U.S. corporations.
Trump&rsquo;s message comes as Apple aggressively shifts supply chains out of China, driven by geopolitics, tariffs, and the company&rsquo;s desire for diversification. India has emerged as a major beneficiary of this pivot. In the fiscal year ending March, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India&mdash;a 60% surge over the previous year&mdash;with three operational plants and more underway through partnerships with Foxconn and Tata.
But for Trump, the numbers only reinforce a deeper concern: U.S. multinationals have become too comfortable building their empires offshore, even when the domestic climate for advanced manufacturing is more favorable than it&rsquo;s been in decades.
With the 2024 campaign trail heating up and &ldquo;economic patriotism&rdquo; once again at the heart of his pitch, Trump is making it clear&mdash;Apple, and companies like it, will be expected to put &ldquo;America First,&rdquo; not just in rhetoric, but in production lines.

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Trump warns Tim Cook: Build in America, not India, as he revives his MAGA manufacturing pitch

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Trump warns Tim Cook: Build in America, not India, as he revives his MAGA manufacturing pitch

May 15, 2025 | 15:05 IST