US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that India offered US a deal where 'they have agreed to charge literally no tariffs' on American goods. Reacting to Trump's claim, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the ongoing negotiations are complex and far from final.
Speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Trump also said he had a "little problem" with Tim Cook, and he told the Apple CEO that he does not want him to build iPhones in India.
There has been no such announcement from India so far about tariffs. Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India and China, on April 2. However, on April 9, he announced a 90-day suspension of these tariffs until July 9 this year, except for those on China and Hong Kong, as about 75 countries approached America for trade deals.
What Did Donald Trump Say?
Trump, who is in Qatar as part of his four-day visit to the Gulf region, was talking about Apple's plans to make iPhones in India.
"I said to him (Cook), my friend, I am treating you very good. You are coming up with $500 billion, but now I hear you are building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India, if you want to take care of India because India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world, so it is very hard to sell in India," Trump said.
"They [India] have offered us a deal where basically they have agreed to charge us literally no tariffs. I said 'Tim, we are treating you really good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years. We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves'," he added.
US - India Tariff | Who Said What?
S Jaishankar told reporters of Thursday, "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. That would be our expectation from the trade deal. Until that is done, any judgment on it would be premature."
Earlier this month, Trump had claimed that India “agreed” to drop its high tariffs "to nothing”.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
Apple In India
Trump's comments came nearly two weeks after Cook said his company made quarterly records in several countries, including India.
Apple will source the majority of the iPhones sold in the US from India in the June quarter, while China will produce the vast majority of the devices for other markets amid uncertainty over tax tariffs, Cook said earlier this month.
According to an analysis by S&P Global, Apple's iPhone sales in the US were 75.9 million units in 2024, with exports in March from India equivalent to 3.1 million units.
