US President Donald Trump reiterated his push for manufacturers to produce devices in the United States during remarks on Friday (US local time) while signing several key executive orders, including one on advancing nuclear energy.
Speaking about the prospect of having iPhones manufactured in the US, Trump said, “It would be more, it would also be Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair. So anybody that makes that product.” He added that if plants are based in the US, there would be no tariffs.
“When they build their plant here, there’s no tariff. So they’re building plants here but I had an understanding with him (Tim Cook) that he wouldn’t be doing this. He said he’s going to India to build plants. I said, that’s okay to go to India, but you’re not going to sell into here without tariffs. And that’s the way it is.”
Trump expressed confidence that automation in manufacturing would prevent price increases for American consumers. “A lot of it’s so computerized now. These plants are amazing if you look at them, but they can do that. Apple’s coming in with 500 billion dollars. So are the chip companies coming in. The biggest 500 billion, 200 billion, 250 billion dollars they’re spending. But we’re talking about the iPhone now. And you know, the iPhone, if they’re to sell it in America, I want it to be built in the United States. They’re able to do that.”
Earlier on Friday, Trump announced that Apple would face a 25 percent import tariff if its mobile handsets sold in the US were not produced domestically.
In a social media post on his Truth Social platform, 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 will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”
He added, “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
On the administration’s decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students, Trump commented, “Billions of dollars have been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that?… And they have USD 52 billion as an endowment… Harvard’s going to have to change its ways.”
Earlier, the White House said, “Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right.” It accused Harvard leadership of turning “their once-great institution into a hotbed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators.”
Harvard and the Trump administration have been in conflict for months, with the administration demanding changes to the university’s programming, hiring, and administration to address on-campus antisemitism and eliminate what it called “racist ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ practices.” The administration has targeted foreign students and employees believed to be involved in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
During the signing of executive orders, the White House noted that President Trump took a series of actions to “unleash nuclear energy in the U.S. as part of the administration’s effort to secure the energy future of America and unleash American energy dominance.”
Additionally, Trump signed an executive order implementing Gold Standard Science aimed at rebuilding public trust in the national science enterprise.
(ANI)
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