Apple tariffs strategy – Bharat Pulse News

Apple’s top assembler Foxconn has exported nearly all of its iPhones manufactured in India to the United States between March and May 2025. Of the $3.2 billion worth of devices shipped in this period, 97 percent went to the US—a sharp increase from about 50 percent in 2024. This move reflects Apple’s strategy to sidestep high tariffs on Chinese-made goods under former President Trump’s trade policies. Between March and May, Foxconn’s operations in India dispatched nearly $1 billion in iPhones to the US in May alone, with March setting a record at $1.3 billion. Year-to-date, exports from India reached $4.4 billion, surpassing the $3.7 billion total for all of 2024. Tata Electronics, another iPhone manufacturer, also directed the majority of its India-made phones—86%—to the US during this period. Apple has gone further to expedite shipments. The company chartered cargo flights in March to fly roughly $2 billion in devices directly to the US and worked with Indian customs authorities to reduce clearance time at Chennai airport from 30 hours to just six. These logistics improvements support a broader “China+1” supply chain strategy aimed at reducing reliance on China and avoiding steep tariff disruption. Former President Trump criticized Apple’s India push during a visit to Qatar, urging the company to shift production back to the US. However, analysts warn that replicating China’s manufacturing scale domestically would require massive infrastructure investment. Despite this, projections from Counterpoint Research estimate that India will produce 25–30 percent of global iPhones in 2025 (up from around 18 percent in 2024). Apple’s India output is now a pillar of Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Still, higher import duties on components and infrastructure bottlenecks remain challenges. With the US threatening new reciprocal tariffs on India, the coming months will test Apple’s efforts to diversify its manufacturing base. But for now, India has emerged as a critical node in Apple’s global operations—fuelled by speed, strategy, and a shifting geopolitical landscape.

Foxconn Ships 97% of India’s iPhones to US Amid Tariff Shift

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