New Delhi, May 19 -- "I don't want you building in India," said US President Donald Trump last week, citing what he told Apple Inc's chief Tim Cook, "India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well. We want you to build here."

That Trump wants iPhone assembly done in the US made many of us sit up, given the anticipation in India of an influx of this job-creating activity from a barrier-facing China. But it should not raise eyebrows. It's part of Trump's 'America First' agenda. What should worry us are signals that go beyond autarky talk, a language that India has long learnt the uses and limits of.

Also Read: Big Tech in the dock: The EU could force Meta and Apple to change their coercive ways

Only if Apple actually does as...