Donald Trump Urges Apple to Stop Building iPhone Factories in India

US President Donald Trump has told Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop building plants in India, highlighting the company’s plans to diversify its manufacturing beyond China.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said of his conversation with the Apple chief executive officer in Qatar, where he’s on a state visit. “He is building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”

As a result of their discussion, Trump said Apple will be “upping their production in the United States.”

“We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves,” the US President said.

Trump said it’s very difficult to sell American products in the most populous country as India has one of the highest tariff barriers in the world. However, India has offered to drop tariffs on US goods, as the Asian nation seeks an agreement on import taxes.

Following recent remarks by the US President, Apple’s plan to shift its iPhone manufacturing hub from the US to India appears to have taken a backseat. The move was aimed at reducing the dependence on Beijing amid tariff and geopolitical concerns. Apple manufactures most of the iPhones in China.

Most of the Indian-made iPhones are assembled at Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in southern India.

During the 12 months ending in March, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India.