The Daily Populous Saturday May 17th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by cnbctv18.com and submitted by srivayush

India is downplaying concerns raised by US President Donald Trump over Apple’s growing manufacturing presence in the country. Government sources told CNBC-TV18 that the tech giant has “assured the Indian government” of its continued commitment to using India as a major base for manufacturing its products.“There is no change in Apple’s investment plans in India,” the sources added, indicating business as usual despite Trump’s recent remarks criticiSing the company’s India strategy.At an event in Doha, Trump took aim at Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying, “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good… but now I hear you are building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”Trump acknowledged that India had offered a deal with “literally no tariffs,” but doubled down on his stance, saying, “ We are not interested in you building in India … We want you to build here [in the US].”The Indian electronics industry appears largely unshaken by the rhetoric. Rajoo Goel , Secretary General of the Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), said the country must stay the course and deepen its electronics value chain.“We need to go deeper into the value chain and do more of the components locally,” Goel told CNBC-TV18, adding that India’s new electronic component manufacturing scheme would help achieve this.Reacting to Trump’s comments, Goel said, “It may slow things down a bit, but I really don’t think it is going to impact India that much. We are still doing a very small share of the global market for Apple.”Calling the remarks “just a statement,” Goel highlighted that India is on “a very strong footing” in electronics manufacturing. “Let us not get disheartened by this… I’m sure Donald Trump might change his stance,” he added.India has become a critical hub for Apple’s global supply chain in recent years, with contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Pegatron expanding operations under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Apple is also ramping up local production of iPhones, with exports hitting record highs in the past year.

PersonNPlusOne on May 17th, 2025 at 15:51 UTC »

Modi & India need to let go of pride/face here and prioritize trade. Industrialization and free trade agreements with the West are a much bigger objective than Trump or Pakistan. A small set back of hyphenation is ok, if Trump wants credit give to him, praise him, don't push back in public (but make it clear via back channels that there won't be any broader discussions on Kashmir). Keep the larger picture in mind, economic prosperity, trade & higher standards of living are the only way of securing India's security & future.

AshutoshRaiK on May 17th, 2025 at 14:14 UTC »

Apple's profit margins won't suit manufacturing in USA. It's shareholders value will erode overnight.

vedantbajaj on May 17th, 2025 at 13:59 UTC »

Obviously trump’s sensitive feelings got hurt when India didn’t give him credit of ceasefire. Anyways, no corporation who has 60 percent profit margin on iphone will manufacture stuff in USA without raising prices significantly.