Trump vs India: Donald Trump, while talking to the CEO of Apple in Doha, the capital of Qatar, said that there is no need to set up a production unit in India, India will take care of itself. Instead, he should invest in America... 

Highlights

• Trump asked American companies to leave India.
• Manufacturing iPhones in India is more expensive than in China.
• Trump changed his tune after the China-US trade agreement.

New Delhi. The reality of Donald Trump, who is boasting about his friendship with India and PM Modi, is now coming out in the open. The US President is currently in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where he is in talks with many big billionaires of the world. After this meeting, Trump himself has revealed that he has asked American companies to remove their factories from India. If this happens, it can give a big blow to the Modi government's 'Make in India' campaign.

US President Donald Trump met iPhone maker Apple's CEO Tim Cook in Doha on May 15 and told him that there is no need to set up factories in India unless it is very important to do so from the market point of view. Bloomberg has claimed in its report that during a conversation with Tim Cook in Doha, Trump told the Apple CEO that we are not interested in you setting up factories in India, they (India) will take care of themselves.

Then where to set up your plant?

During the discussion with Tim, Trump clearly said that Apple should set up its production unit in America itself. He told that India has offered them to end all kinds of tariffs. India has made it completely clear that it will not charge any tariff from America. In such a situation, instead of setting up a production unit in India, American companies should come back to America and produce here.

Apple has a different plan

While Trump is pressuring Apple to set up its production unit back in America, the company has revealed a different plan. Last month, Apple had said that by the year 2026, most of the iPhones sold in America will be manufactured in India. This was planned to avoid China's high tariff. Apple had also said that currently its company sells around 6 crore iPhones in America every year and 80 percent of these are made in China.

Making iPhones in India is expensive.

Reuters had reported in its report that making iPhones in India is 5 to 8 percent more expensive than making them in China. In some cases, it is even 10 percent more expensive. Apple has already increased its production in India to avoid the tariffs imposed by the US President. In March, Apple airlifted 60 tons of iPhones to the US, which are said to be worth about $2 billion. With this shipment, both Tata and Foxconn have made a record.

Why did Trump's tone suddenly change?

The US administration had imposed a 26% tariff on imports from India, which was much less than the 100% tariff imposed on China. But why did Trump's tone suddenly change? The answer to this is found in the trade talks between China and the US held in Geneva. In this agreement, both countries have agreed to impose less tariffs on each other. China has made many more offers to the US, after which the possibility of ending the tariff war between the two countries has increased. It is believed that because of this agreement, Trump has suddenly changed his tone and started speaking against India.