'Not India or any place else': Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple if iPhones not manufactured in US

US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if the iPhones the company sells in the United States are not manufactured locally.

Shares of Apple dropped 2.5% in premarket trading on Trump's warning, dragging down US stock index futures lower.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or any place else," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US".

It is not clear if Trump can levy a tariff on an individual company. Apple has not yet issued any comment on this.

Apple is positioning India as an alternative manufacturing base amid Trump's tariffs on China that have raised supply-chain concerns and fears of higher iPhone prices.

The iPhone maker said most of its smartphones sold in the United States would originate from India in the June quarter.

Don't want you building in India, Trump tells Apple CEO Tim Cook

Donald Trump has made it clear he’s not happy with Apple shifting more of its manufacturing to India. He recently said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop expanding in India and focus on the US instead.

Speaking at a business event in Doha, Trump had 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 went on to say that India is one of the highest-tariff countries and that it is not easy to sell in the Indian market. Trump also said, “We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves.”

Between April 2024 and March 2025, Apple reportedly made iPhones worth Rs 1.83 lakh crore (around $22 billion) in India. This was a 60% jump from the previous year. Nearly 15% of all iPhones made by Apple now come from India, and most of them are shipped to the US and other markets.

In March 2025 alone, India exported over 3 million iPhones to the US.

Apple started producing iPhones in India in 2017 with the iPhone SE. Since then, it has expanded its production line to include models like iPhone 12, 13, 14, 14 Plus and 15. In late 2024, Apple also began making its high-end models—iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max—in India. The company even started assembling AirPods in the country recently.