April 25, 2025
Rising tariffs on Chinese goods, including a 20 per cent duty on smartphones, have made China-based manufacturing increasingly costly for Apple
India is negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the US and is expected to be the first country to secure an agreement, avoiding reciprocal tariffs
Apple expanded its manufacturing in India through Tata Electronics and Foxconn, with over three million iPhones shipped from India in early 2025
Foxconn exported $5.3 billion worth of Apple devices to the US in 2025, including models such as the iPhone 13, 14, 16, and 16e
Apple plans to relocate the assembly of all iPhones destined for the United States to India as early as next year, as escalating US-China trade tensions prompt the tech giant to fast-track its supply chain diversification, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The move aims to completely shift the production of over 60 million iPhones annually sold in the US to Indian factories by the end of 2026.
This development marks Apple’s most significant manufacturing shift in decades and builds on its recent investments in India.
The company currently relies heavily on Chinese assembly through partners such as Foxconn. Still, rising tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, reaching over 100 per cent on some Chinese imports, have made production in China increasingly expensive.
Although smartphones were granted a temporary exemption from the highest tariff bands, a 20 per cent duty continues to apply to Chinese-made devices entering the United States.
India, by contrast, is subject to a paused reciprocal tariff of 26 per cent. Moreover, India is negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with Washington. US Vice President JD Vance recently visited India. He indicated that progress on the deal was “very good,” raising expectations that India will become the first country to finalise such an agreement and thereby avoid Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
Apple has scaled up its manufacturing footprint in India through partnerships with Tata Electronics and Foxconn. These companies import component sets from China and assemble iPhones locally.
Recent data from market intelligence firm IDC showed that over three million iPhones were shipped from India in the first three months of 2025, despite a contraction in the broader Indian smartphone market.
Foxconn alone exported $1.31 billion worth of Apple devices in March, bringing its total shipments to the United States to $5.3 billion this year. These shipments included various iPhone models such as the 13, 14, 16, and 16e.
Furthermore, Apple plans to double its current output in India and expand its retail presence by opening four new stores in Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai. The company, which already employs more than 3,000 people in India, has also advertised hundreds of new job openings across its manufacturing and retail operations.
Apple is not the only tech company considering India a manufacturing hub. Media reports suggest Samsung is evaluating moving smartphone production from Vietnam to India following a steep 46 per cent tariff on Vietnamese imports. Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., is reportedly in talks with manufacturing partners such as Dixon Technologies and Foxconn to relocate part of its Pixel smartphone production from Vietnam to India.
Source: Business Standard