During a round business table with American business leaders in Qatar on Thursday, President Trump said he had a “little problem” with one of the CEOs who was not there: Apple Tim Cook. Trump criticized Cook – who announced a $ 500 billion spending plan for the United States after meeting Trump in February – to move the production of China iPhone to India, the Tutor Reports. “I said to him, ‘Tim, you are my friend. You come here with $ 500 billion but now you are building all India. I don’t want you to build in India’,” said Trump.
Trump said he said to Cook: “We are dealing with you really well, we have followed all the plants you have built in China for years, now you have to build us (for us”, according to the Tutor. “We are not interested in your construction in India, India can take care of themselves.” Apple is currently making very little of its products in the United States, outside the Mac Pro, but Apple Intelligence servers will be made in Texas as part of the plan announced in February, reports CNBC.
Trump also said that India was approaching “an agreement where, essentially, they are ready to literally charge us any rate”. The remark raised the eyebrows to New Delhi, but the Indian Foreign Minister “took care not to contradict the president directly” New York Times Reports. S. Jaishankar told journalists that “very complex” commercial discussions are underway and “nothing is decided until everything is”. (More Apple stories)
