During his recent Middle East tour – which included stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates – President Donald Trump revealed he had personally intervened to halt Apple’s manufacturing expansion plans in India. The former president emphasized his preference for domestic production, addressing shareholders of the tech giant involved in a high-stakes global chess game between trade policy and supply chain strategy.
“I’ve had a little chat with Tim Cook about his India strategy,” Trump remarked during private meetings in Doha. The president, infamous for his transactional approach to international relations, offered Apple’s leadership a clear choice: “We need those iPhones made here, not there.” This comes as analysts calculate that India’s smartphone tariffs – often exceeding 20% for imported devices – could translate to $190 price hikes per iPhone for American consumers facing already strained inflation expectations.
Apple currently operates zero iPhone production lines in the United States despite manufacturing over 220 million devices annually. However, the Cupertino company appears to be rebalancing its operations under dual pressure from Washington and Beijing. Recent data shows 60% year-on-year growth in Indian iPhone production worth $2.2 billion, yet 80% of U.S.-bound units still roll off Chinese assembly lines while Trump’s administration threatens retaliatory trade measures.
Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s primary contract manufacturer, has intensified investments at its southern India facilities as part of successive relocation cycles spurred by U.S.-China tensions. But now, the semiconductor industry faces its next test: can Apple achieve Washington’s domestic manufacturing ambitions during a peak period (3nm chip launches, new iOS 19 features) without disrupting the delicate balance between investor demands and geopolitical realities?
Trump’s tariff threats already cost Apple an estimated $900 million in Q1 projections, according to updated guidance from CFO Luca Maestri. Shares have fallen 15% year-to-date – significantly underperforming the Nasdaq’s 12% gain – while indications emerge about potential pricing experiments in the fall product cycle that could separate trade policy from consumer outcomes.
Historically, Trump’s economic policies have focused on reshoring, leveraging tariff threats against electronics companies with mainland China dependencies. This renewed interest in Apple’s allocation strategy could signal the beginning of coordinated pressure tactics targeting U.S. tech monopolies’ global footprints. As Vertical Research Partners analyst Ming-Chi Kuo observes: “Every tariff point is an iPhone point.”
Original article, Author: Samuel Thompson. If you wish to reprint this article, please indicate the source:https://aicnbc.com/44.html
