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Apple’s India plans have two new threats: Trump and Xi

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Apple CEO Tim Cook arriving at the White House to attend a state dinner hosted by then US President Joe Biden for Indian PM Narendra Modi in June 2023.

Apple CEO Tim Cook arriving at the White House to attend a state dinner hosted by then US President Joe Biden for Indian PM Narendra Modi in June 2023.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Mihir Sharma

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Apple and its main manufacturing contractor Hon Hai Precision Industry are still betting on India. When Hon Hai – better known as Foxconn – revealed through an exchange filing last week that it was putting another US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) into its operations there, it will have calmed a few nerves in New Delhi.

Worries about the future of Apple in India had been set off by US President Donald Trump, who said in May that he had told the company’s chief executive Tim Cook that “I don’t want you building in India”. This seemed to contradict hopes, shared by both Cupertino, a city in California’s Silicon Valley and home of the Apple headquarters, and New Delhi, that most iPhones for the US market would come from India by the end of 2026.

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