President Trump assaulted Apple on Friday, threatening the company with 25% tariffs on his iPhone unless production is moved to the US
“I have informed Tim Cook a long time ago that I expect the iPhone (sic) to be sold in the United States to be manufactured and built in the United States, not in India or elsewhere,” Trump writes of the Truth Society. “If not, Apple will have to pay at least 25% tariffs to the US. Beware of this issue!”
Trump’s post comes days after Apple’s leading manufacturing partner Foxconn announced its $1.5 billion investment in Indian units. Apple is about to shift hardware production to India as the trade war with China under President Trump takes an unpredictable twist and turn.
In a revenue call earlier this month, Cook said that the majority of iPhones sold in the US “will have India as their country of origin.”
According to CNN, President Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with Apple’s transition to India last week while he was in the Middle East. The outlet reported that the two men also met on Tuesday, but details of what they discussed were slim.
Trump has begun ratcheting attacks on businesses trying to avoid the effects of US-imposed tariffs. Just this weekend he wrote a post asking Walmart to “eat tariffs” rather than handing over to shoppers.