Apple To Double Down On India Amid US-China Tariff War

India is seemingly poised to gain big from the ongoing US-China trade war. Big tech major Apple is reportedly firming up plans to double down on its Indian manufacturing capabilities amid the ongoing geopolitical skirmishes between Washington DC and Beijing. 

Sources told Wall Street Journal that the company is planning to export more iPhones from India to the US to “offset” the North American country’s higher tariffs on China. As per the report, turning the focus towards India will be Apple’s short-term fix for the situation as it attempts to win exemptions from the US government for imports from China. 

Sources reportedly added that the company sees the “current situation” as too uncertain to upend long-term investments in its supply chain, which is centred around China. 

It is pertinent to note that the Trump administration has increased the tariffs on Chinese goods to at least 54% while Indian products attract a levy of 26%. 

Meanwhile, it seems like Apple’s stopgap solution for its supply chain woes is already in motion as the big tech major has reportedly transported at least five planes full of iPhones and other products from India to the US in just three days before the tariff announcements were made on April 2. 

As per a report by Times of India, the process was rushed to avoid the reciprocal tariff imposed by Trump on India. 

The company moved the inventory of its manufacturing centres in India and China to the US ahead of the trade war. “Factories in India and China and other key locations had been shipping products to the US in anticipation of the higher tariffs,” a source told the Indian publication. 

Despite the company’s planned measures to offset the damage from the trade war, its investors as well as customers in the US are panicking over its future. As per reports, the looming threat of an increase in prices of iPhones in the US has pushed customers in droves to Apple retail stores over the past few days.

Meanwhile, the trade war has hit the big tech major’s fortunes on the stock exchanges, triggering a three-day long selling spree. The company’s shares are trading at $184.27 apiece on Nasdaq, slightly higher than its 52-week low of $164.08.

Amid the crisis, Apple’s India play might be its trump card to pull the company forward. Even though the big tech relies heavily on China for manufacturing, with estimates suggesting that around 90% of iPhones being assembled there, it has been beefing up its India manufacturing steadily over the past few years.

In line with its pivot away from China, the company is said to be looking to assemble 32% of iPhones by volume and 26% by value in India by 2026-27. 

The tech major is also relying on vendors like Foxconn, Wipro Enterprises, Bharat Forge, among others, to shoulder its supplier network and produce components of its products in India. 

A day ago, it was also reported that Apple managed to double its iPhone exports from India to INR 20,000 Cr in March from INR 11,000 Cr a year ago.