Even with a 25% tariff, the numbers still favor India. A $1,000 iPhone made in India would incur a $250 tariff. Add that to the $30 assembly cost, and the total is $280—still far cheaper than U.S. assembly alone.

Trump's threat came after he asked Cook to stop making the popular phones in India and pivot to U.S. production instead.

Apple previously said in February it would spend $500 billion to expand many of its operations in the U.S., including assembling AI servers in Houston.