New Delhi: This announcement came during a landmark meeting at the White House with Apple CEO Tim Cook, where Apple doubled down on its “Made in America” push. The tech giant pledged a whopping $100 billion more toward U.S. manufacturing, taking its total investment promise to $600 billion. Apple’s partners, Corning, Texas Instruments, and Applied Materials, are stepping up too. Corning is even converting an entire Kentucky plant just to make Apple glass, which is expected to boost local jobs by 50%.
Trump’s tariff plan seems clear: reward those bringing jobs and factories back home, and punish those who don’t. Even if a company’s new plant isn’t up and running yet, it will still be spared from tariffs, as long as the intent to manufacture in the U.S. is rock-solid.
But here’s the catch, iPhones and MacBooks made in India or Vietnam could be slapped with 50% and 20% tariffs respectively, if Apple doesn’t ramp up U.S. production. Tim Cook did admit that final iPhone assembly will still stay abroad for now, but Trump seemed fine with that, calling Apple’s scale of U.S. investment “unmatched anywhere in the world.”
Back in India, another power player is making headlines, Gautam Adani. The billionaire behind Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) stepped down as Executive Chairman and took over as Non-Executive Chairman from August 5, 2025. While the company calls it a compliance move (since top bosses can’t hold the same position across many companies as per Indian law), it’s happening at a very interesting time.
Adding weight to the boardroom, Manish Kejriwal has joined as an independent director to strengthen corporate governance. But behind this strategic board shuffle lies a much deeper storm.
The Adani Group is under fire, facing U.S. investigations for allegedly importing sanctioned Iranian oil through Mundra Port and a $250 million bribery and fraud probe. These come on top of previous Hindenburg Research allegations and ongoing scrutiny by SEBI about shareholding violations. The company strongly denies all charges, but the damage is visible. Recently, Kenya scrapped $2.6 billion worth of Adani infrastructure projects following U.S. indictments, sparking both support and concern within India’s foreign investment circles.
Amid the Noise, Adani Ports Still Delivers
Despite the legal heat, APSEZ’s performance has stayed strong. In the April–June 2025 quarter, the company posted:
- 21% revenue growth (₹9,126 crore)
- 11% rise in cargo handling
- ₹3,311 crore profit after tax (up 7%)
- Logistics revenue doubled
- Marine segment contribution tripled
Even with a slight dip in EBITDA margin (still a solid 60%), analysts remain optimistic. With 15 ports in India and 4 abroad, Adani Ports has built a vast multi-modal logistics empire. The bigger question, however, is, will global controversies now slow it down?
