Trump urges Apple CEO Tim Cook not to expand production in India
Doha (Qatar): Former US President Donald Trump has claimed that he urged Apple CEO Tim Cook not to expand the tech giant’s manufacturing operations in India. Speaking at a business event in Doha, Trump said he had a conversation with Cook where he expressed displeasure over Apple’s reported plans to increase production in India.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said, according to a Bloomberg report. “I said to him, my friend, I’m treating you very good. You’re coming up with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re 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 nations in the world," making it hard to sell American products in the country. Trump claimed that although India has now offered the US a deal with “literally no tariffs,” he told Cook, “We’re not interested in you building in India. They can take care of themselves, they are doing very well.”
According to Trump, following his conversation with Cook, Apple is now planning to ramp up its manufacturing within the United States. However, he did not provide further details about any changes in Apple’s existing plans for India or specifics of the discussion’s outcome.
During the same speech, Trump claimed that India had offered to remove tariffs on US goods, stating, “They are willing to literally charge us no tariff.” He did not elaborate further or present any official confirmation of such a deal.
Trump’s remarks come amid continuing trade negotiations between India and the United States. According to Bloomberg, formal trade talks began after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House earlier this year. At the time, both nations had agreed to work towards completing the first phase of a trade agreement by autumn.
India’s Trade Minister is expected to visit the US between May 17 and 20 for further discussions with American officials. Despite recent tensions, including the US imposing higher duties on Indian steel and aluminium exports — and India threatening retaliatory tariffs — officials on both sides have indicated that dialogue remains active.
Indian officials, according to Bloomberg, are reportedly frustrated by some of Trump’s public statements, including his earlier announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and his suggestion that trade was used as a tool to influence that conflict. Indian officials have denied that any such linkage between trade and military matters was made during talks.
Apple has been gradually increasing its manufacturing presence in India over the past few years. The company produces several iPhone models in the country through contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Wistron. These steps are aligned with the Indian government’s push to attract foreign investments in electronics and reduce dependence on imports.
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11 more bodies retrieved from Arunachal accident site
Itanagar (PTI): Eleven more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, where a mini-truck on which 22 labourers from Assam were travelling fell, an official said.
With this, 17 bodies have been recovered from the accident site, Anjaw's deputy commissioner Milo Kojin said.
He said three more bodies will be brought out on Sunday.
The operation, being conducted by a joint team of the NDRF and Army, resumed at 6 am.
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"The retrieval process was extremely difficult because of the treacherous terrain, and the gorge is very deep," Kojin said.
The operation was suspended around 4 pm due to low visibility and will be resumed on Sunday morning, he said.
"One person is still missing, and a search operation will be carried out tomorrow," he added.
The accident happened on the evening of December 8, around 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam in the district. On the evening of December 10, one survivor managed to climb out of the gorge and reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp, following which the authorities were alerted.
Six bodies were recovered from the gorge on Friday and handed over to their families on Saturday.
