<p>New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that New Delhi has offered to reduce tariffs on a majority of American goods to zero as part of the proposed bilateral trade agreement and asked tech giant Apple to stop moving iPhone production to India.</p>.<p>Speaking at a business gathering in Doha, Qatar, Trump asked Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook to shift the manufacturing base to the US instead of moving from China to India.</p>.<p>“I said to Tim, ‘Tim look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years, now you got to build us. We are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves,” Trump said, referring to his meeting with the Apple chief on Wednesday.</p>.<p>On tariffs, Trump said, “They (India) have offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff. They’re the highest, and now they’re saying no tariff.”</p>.India’s trade deficit widens to $26.42 billion in April.<p>However, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar refuted Trump’s claim saying nothing has been decided yet.</p>.<p>“Between India and the US, trade talks have been going on. These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. It has to work for both countries,” Jaishankar told reporters.</p>.<p>India and the US are looking to sign a bilateral trade agreement by October this year. The two countries have held several rounds of talks, and the next round is scheduled in Washington from May 17 to 20 where Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation.</p>.<p>Reacting to Trump’s comment on Apple, a top government official said Apple is likely to continue with its India expansion plans considering the competitiveness of the market.</p>.<p>“India has become a significant player in the smartphone production space. If companies recognise the value of manufacturing in India, they will continue on that path,” said the official, who requested not to be named.</p>.<p>India is the second largest manufacturing base for Apple iPhone after China. In the financial year ended March 2025, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India, a 60% jump over the previous year. At present, Apple iPhones are manufactured at three plants in India – two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, Cook said most of iPhones sold in the US in April-June quarter onwards would be sourced from India. The company has announced plans to boost its manufacturing in India.</p>
<p>New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that New Delhi has offered to reduce tariffs on a majority of American goods to zero as part of the proposed bilateral trade agreement and asked tech giant Apple to stop moving iPhone production to India.</p>.<p>Speaking at a business gathering in Doha, Qatar, Trump asked Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook to shift the manufacturing base to the US instead of moving from China to India.</p>.<p>“I said to Tim, ‘Tim look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years, now you got to build us. We are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves,” Trump said, referring to his meeting with the Apple chief on Wednesday.</p>.<p>On tariffs, Trump said, “They (India) have offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff. They’re the highest, and now they’re saying no tariff.”</p>.India’s trade deficit widens to $26.42 billion in April.<p>However, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar refuted Trump’s claim saying nothing has been decided yet.</p>.<p>“Between India and the US, trade talks have been going on. These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. It has to work for both countries,” Jaishankar told reporters.</p>.<p>India and the US are looking to sign a bilateral trade agreement by October this year. The two countries have held several rounds of talks, and the next round is scheduled in Washington from May 17 to 20 where Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation.</p>.<p>Reacting to Trump’s comment on Apple, a top government official said Apple is likely to continue with its India expansion plans considering the competitiveness of the market.</p>.<p>“India has become a significant player in the smartphone production space. If companies recognise the value of manufacturing in India, they will continue on that path,” said the official, who requested not to be named.</p>.<p>India is the second largest manufacturing base for Apple iPhone after China. In the financial year ended March 2025, Apple assembled iPhones worth $22 billion in India, a 60% jump over the previous year. At present, Apple iPhones are manufactured at three plants in India – two in Tamil Nadu and one in Karnataka.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, Cook said most of iPhones sold in the US in April-June quarter onwards would be sourced from India. The company has announced plans to boost its manufacturing in India.</p>