https://www.ft.com/content/c2be45b8-cfad-4cbb-9a1a-bfd0626be372
Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump’s trade war forces the tech giant to pivot away from China.
The push builds on Apple’s strategy to diversify its supply chain but goes further and faster than investors appreciate, with a goal to source from India the entirety of the more than 60mn iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of 2026.
The target would mean doubling the iPhone output in India, after almost two decades in which Apple spent heavily in China to create a world-beating production line that powered its rise into a $3tn tech giant.
China, where Apple manufactures the majority of its iPhones via third parties such as Foxconn, has been subject to the US president’s most aggressive levies, though he has since signalled a willingness to negotiate with Beijing.
In the wake of Trump’s tariff announcements, which wiped $700bn from Apple’s market value, the company rushed to export available Indian-manufactured iPhones to the US to avoid the then-higher tariffs imposed on China.
Apple has in recent years been steadily building capacity in India with contract manufacturers Tata Electronics and Foxconn, though it still assembles most of its smartphones in China.
iPhone assembly is the last step in the production process, bringing together hundreds of components for which Apple is still heavily reliant on Chinese suppliers. Trump initially announced “reciprocal” tariffs of more than 100 per cent on imports from China, but then offered a temporary reprieve for smartphones. The devices are still subject to a separate 20 per cent rate that applies to all imports from China.
India was hit with a so-called reciprocal tariff of 26 per cent, though this is paused while New Delhi pushes for a bilateral trade agreement with the US. On a visit to India this week, US vice-president JD Vance said the two countries were making “very good progress”. The US accounted for about 28 per cent of Apple’s 232.1mn global iPhone shipments in 2024, according to the International Data Corporation.
Apple would need to further increase capacity in India to fulfil all US orders from the country.
Last year, as the iPhone maker sought to increase output from India, Foxconn and Tata started importing pre-assembled component sets from China. “We believe this is going to be an important move for Apple to be able to maintain its growth and momentum,” said Daniel Newman, chief executive at the Futurum Group research firm. “We are seeing in real time how a company with these resources is moving at relative light speed to address the tariff risk.”
Apple is reporting quarterly earnings next week as investors seek to make sense of the impact of Trump’s tariff plans. The company does not offer precise guidance on earnings and has refrained from discussing the tariffs.
Chief executive Tim Cook has been in regular contact with Trump and his administration since attending the president’s inauguration in January.
Apple declined to comment.
