WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25 per cent tariff if the iPhones the company sells in the United States are not manufactured locally.

In a post on Truth Social Trump said he had “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.”

“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US,” he added.

Trump’s sweeping tariffs on major US trading partners have roiled global markets and upended international commerce.

Trump’s comments Friday echo statements he made last week while on a trip to Qatar, urging Apple to bring iPhone production to US shores.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said on May 15.

The president said he told Apple chief executive Cook: “We’re not interested in you building in India… we want you to build here and they’re going to be upping their production in the United States.”

When presenting the tech company’s first-quarter profits in early May, Cook said he expected “a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin”.

He warned of the uncertain impact of the 145 percent US tariffs on products from China — the company’s long-time manufacturing hub — despite a temporary reprieve for high-end tech goods such as smartphones and computers.

Although completed smartphones are exempted from Trump’s tariffs for now, not all components that go into Apple devices are spared.

Apple expects US tariffs to cost $900 million in the current quarter, even though their impact was “limited” at the start of this year, according to Cook.