US President Donald Trump has said that it is fine if Apple wants to set up a plant in India but if it does so, the technology company will not be able to sell its products in the US without duty. Trump’s remarks came at a time when he signed several executive orders in his Oval Office to promote American nuclear energy. “…but I agreed with Tim (Cook) that he would not do it. He said he was going to India to build the plant,” Trump said on Friday.
I said, ‘Go to India, that’s fine but you’re not going to be able to sell it here without duty,’ and that’s it. “We’re talking about the iPhone. If they want to sell it in the United States, I want it made in the United States,” he said. Earlier, in a social media post on Friday morning, Trump said he hoped Apple iPhones sold in the US would be manufactured in the US and not “in India or anywhere else.” He threatened to impose a 25 per cent duty on the company’s products if it did not comply.
Trump wrote, “I have long ago told Tim Cook of Apple that his iPhones sold in the US will be manufactured here, not in India or anywhere else. If this does not happen, Apple will have to pay a minimum of 25 percent duty to the US. ” Last week, during his visit to West Asia, Trump said in Doha that he has told Apple’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) not to manufacture in India, but to develop his manufacturing capacity in the US. The Tim Cook-led Apple company is considering shifting iPhone manufacturing from China to India.