United States President Donald Trump stated that he asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop plans for building manufacturing plants in India.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said of his conversation with the Apple chief executive officer in Qatar, where he’s on a state visit.

“He is building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.”

As a result of their discussion, Trump said Apple will be “upping their production in the United States.”

“We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves,” the US President said.

India has some of the highest tariff barriers globally, making it difficult for American products to enter the country, Trump said.

However, he noted that India has proposed lowering tariffs on US goods as it seeks an agreement on import taxes.

The US president’s comments challenge Apple’s plan to have most of its iPhone supply sourced from India by the end of next year.

This strategy aims to lessen reliance on China amid tariff issues and geopolitical tensions.

Currently, Apple manufactures the majority of its iPhones in China and does not produce smartphones in the US.

Apple and its suppliers have sped up their shift away from China, the world’s second-largest economy.

This move started when strict COVID lockdowns disrupted production at Apple’s biggest factory.

Additionally, tariffs imposed by Trump and ongoing tensions between Beijing and Washington have pushed Apple to intensify this strategy.

The majority of India-made iPhones are assembled at Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in southern India.

Tata Group’s electronics manufacturing arm, which took over Wistron Corp.’s local operations and oversees Pegatron Corp.’s activities in India, is another important supplier.

Both Tata and Foxconn are expanding production by constructing new plants and boosting capacity in southern India, Bloomberg News reported.