Apple plans to transfer most of the production of iPhone devices for sale in the United States to factories in India by the end of 2026, to avoid customs duties imposed on China – its main manufacturing base – where most iPhone phones are currently making. According to a report from “Reuters”.
A source familiar with the refusal to reveal his name reported that the planning process is secret, that Apple is in urgent talks with the Taiwanese Foxconn and the Indian “Tata” to achieve this goal.
It is noteworthy that Apple sells more than 60 million iPhone devices in the United States annually, and about 80% of it is made in China now, and although Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged the manufacture of smartphones in India, the high customs duties to import mobile phones make production in India cost companies, and the source said that the costs of manufacturing iPhone in India are higher by 5% and 8% than Its counterpart in China, and the difference rises to 10% in some cases.
To avoid the fees imposed by US President Donald Trump, Apple has strengthened its production in India, where last March was shipped about 600 tons of iPhone devices worth $ 2 billion to the United States, and these shipments achieved a record number for “Foxconn” and “Tata”, as the value of smartphones that Foxconn only was charged $ 1.3 billion. According to Reuters.
Although the United States imposed 26% fees on imports from India, it was much lower than the fees imposed on China, which exceeded 100% at the time, and the United States later suspended most of these fees 3 months, with the exception of those imposed on China. The Trump administration indicated its openness to calm the trade war between the two largest economies in the world, which raised fears of stagnation.
While Apple is seeking to diversify its manufacturing sources away from China, India has placed a decisive location, with Foxconn and Tata, which are the two main resources, there are 3 factories in total and plan to build two other factories.
It is noteworthy that the company “Foxconn” has worked to distribute its production outside China since 2023 due to the Kofid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted its largest iPhone factories in 2022, and the company seeks to avoid any possible damage to its business as a result of the escalation of commercial tensions between Beijing and Washington.
