After US president Donald Trump said that he asked Apple to not manufacture its devices in India, the company has reportedly assured the government that there is no change in Apple’s investment plans in India. As per reports, the Indian government has downplayed Trump’s remarks, saying that Apple has assured that is will make India a major manufacturing base for its products.
“There is no change in Apple’s investment plans in India,” sources in the govt told the media. The sources said that India now has a manufacturing ecosystem that is good for global smartphone companies, and companies like Apple will see the competitiveness of the same. ‘If companies recognise the value of manufacturing in India, they will continue on that path’, the sources said.
Moreover, sources in Apple has indicated that the company has no plan to change its plans for investments in India based on Trump’s comments. Company executives told news agency PTI that the proposal to set up a major manufacturing facility in the country will go ahead as scheduled.
Earlier today, During his Doha visit, Donald Trump said that he told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he does not want the company to build (manufacturing plants) in India. He said, “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion but now I hear you are building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”
He had added, “You(Apple) want to build in India, if you want to take care of India. India is one of the highest-tariff nations, it is very hard to sell in India. And they have offered us a deal where there is literally no tariff. So from the highest tariff, we are going to almost no tariff. So I said to Tim, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years, but we are not interested in you building in India can take care of themselves very well.”
Notably, last month Apple said that it is planning to shift the assembly of all iPhones sold in US to India as soon as next year, amid the US-China tariff war. Apple device maker Foxconn is looking to acquire up to 300 acres of land parcel in Uttar Pradesh for a new plant. Another $2.6 billion plant by Taiwan’s Foxconn is under construction in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Tata Electronic is also doubling iPhone casings capacity to one lakh, and its new plant in Tamil Nadu has started production of iPhones.
