Trump advisor Navarro rips Apple's Tim Cook for not moving production out of China fast enough

Peter Navarro, a former trade advisor in the Trump administration, has publicly criticized Apple CEO Tim Cook for the company's sluggish response to calls for relocating its production facilities out of China. In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Navarro expressed his frustrations, labeling Cook's requests for more time as a drawn-out saga in Silicon Valley. Since the start of Trump's presidency, there has been increasing pressure on Apple to manufacture more of its products domestically. Currently, Apple's flagship iPhone is primarily produced in China, although the tech giant has started ramping up production in India as a strategy to mitigate the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Recently, President Trump warned that Apple would face a hefty tariff of 25% or more on iPhones manufactured outside the U.S. Despite these pressures, Navarro believes that Cook is not acting swiftly enough to diversify production. He pointed out that advanced manufacturing techniques and innovations in artificial intelligence should enable Apple to produce iPhones in various locations, including the United States. Apple has historically produced very few products on American soil, with a notable exception being the assembly of the $3,000 Mac Pro in Texas during Trump's first term. In February, the company announced plans to invest $500 billion in the U.S., which includes commitments to assemble some AI servers. However, the debate continues as to whether Apple can realistically shift its iPhone production from China to the U.S. without significantly increasing costs for consumers.