US President Donald Trump has reignited pressure on Apple to relocate its iPhone production to the United States, warning that failure to do so will attract a 25% tariff on products sold domestically.

Posting on Truth Social Friday morning, Trump wrote, “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America to be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.”

The demand follows Trump’s comments last week during a trip to the Middle East, where he criticised Apple CEO Tim Cook for expanding manufacturing operations in India. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said in Qatar. “I said to him, ‘Tim, you’re my friend… But now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.’”

Though Cook reportedly met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, details of the conversation remain undisclosed. Apple has yet to comment publicly on the latest remarks.

Apple, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, has consistently maintained that it is not currently feasible to manufacture iPhones in the United States at scale. The company has heavily invested in training skilled engineers abroad, particularly in China and India, where the sheer size of the workforce makes high-volume production viable and cost-effective.

This challenge was underscored by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who, in a 2010 meeting with then-President Barack Obama, argued that the US lacked the engineering workforce required to support iPhone production. “You can’t find that many in America to hire,” Jobs said, referring to the estimated 30,000 industrial engineers needed to support Apple’s complex manufacturing operations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook echoed similar sentiments in a 2012 interview, saying, “I want [Apple products to be made in the U.S.] … and you can bet that we’ll use the whole of our influence on this.” However, the company has since made only limited moves toward reshoring.

Analysts argue that bringing iPhone production stateside remains an improbable and economically daunting task. Dan Ives, head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, told CNN that reshoring production would likely triple the cost of iPhones, pushing their price tag above $3,500. “You build that [supply chain] in the US with a fab in West Virginia and New Jersey, they’ll be $3,500 iPhones,” Ives explained.

Moreover, Ives noted it would take Apple an estimated $30 billion and at least three years to shift just 10% of its supply chain back to the United States.

As Apple continues to expand its presence in India—part of a broader strategy to diversify its manufacturing base beyond China—Trump’s latest warning injects renewed political tension into the debate over domestic production, global supply chains, and the future of American manufacturing.

Melissa Enoch

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