Thought Leadership
Over decades, Apple has built up a network of contract manufacturers and suppliers in China. But with Donald Trump’s China tariffs, India is becoming more important as a location.
According to media reports, Apple wants to increasingly supply iPhones for the US home market from India instead of China. The Financial Times even wrote that the aim is to build all 60 million iPhones sold annually in the US there by the end of 2026. To achieve this, production in India would have to be doubled, according to informed sources.
The financial service Bloomberg only wrote that Apple wanted to import the majority of iPhones to the USA from India. However, the Bloomberg sources also spoke of the need to double production in the country.
US President Donald Trump recently raised tariffs on goods from China to a total of 145%. At the same time, electronics such as smartphones and notebooks were exempted from the majority of these tariffs. However, the White House made it clear shortly afterwards that this was temporary.
Most iPhones come from China
Apple had already increased production capacity at contract manufacturers in India and Vietnam in recent years. The entire model range can now be assembled in India. However, the majority of Apple smartphones continue to be built in China, where the company has built up a network of contract manufacturers and suppliers over decades.
Trump and his Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick had set the goal of bringing iPhone production to the USA. Lutnick said, among other things, that robots could be used for this. However, industry experts point out that iPhones from the USA would be significantly more expensive. If Apple were to build its iPhones in a factory in West Virginia or New Jersey, for example, the price of a device would be 3500 dollars (around 3079 euros), warned analyst Dan Ives from the investment firm Wedbush.
dpa
