Apple plans to make all US iPhones in India, Moving Away from China
Apple plans to make all US iPhones in India, moving away from China. Apple is planning to move all iPhone assembly from the US to India because it wants to rely less on China due to Donald Trump's trade war.
According to the Financial Times, Apple, a $3 trillion tech company, wants to move iPhone production from the US to India as early as next year.
Apple has been affected by Donald Trump's tough tariff policies, and at one point, its stock dropped significantly because people were worried that iPhones made in China might face high import taxes in the US.
Later, the White House decided not to impose the largest tariffs on smartphones, which helped Apple somewhat. However, the company still has to deal with a 20% tax on all Chinese products due to the US response to China’s link to Fentanyl production.
The process of making an iPhone is complicated and requires over 1,000 parts from around the world, though most of the final assembly currently happens in China. Apple keeps its production process private, but experts say around 90% are assembled in China.
The FT reports that Apple wants to manufacture over 60 million iPhones in India each year for the US by the end of 2026. To do this, it would need to more than double its current iPhone production in India.
Apple has already started manufacturing more iPhones in India and sending them to the US. In March, its main Indian partners, Foxconn and Tata, shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the US, as they attempted to reduce the effect of upcoming tariffs.
Apple also used special cargo flights to quickly send 600 tonnes of iPhones — up to 1.5 million devices — to the US to ensure stores had enough stock.
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Apple already has three factories in India and even added Sunday shifts at its biggest one in Chennai last month to increase production.
Over 50% of Apple’s Mac computers and 80% of its iPads are made in China, according to US bank Evercore. However, Apple watches are made in Vietnam.
Experts don’t think Apple will move iPhone production to the US, even though the White House says American tech products should eventually be made at home. The president’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Apple’s recent $500 billion investment shows that making iPhones in the US could happen one day.
“If Apple didn’t believe the US could handle it, they probably wouldn’t have invested so much,” Leavitt said.
However, experts do not think it is likely. Wedbush Securities, a US financial firm, said making iPhones in the US would make them more than three times more expensive.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said, “If people want to pay $3,500 for an iPhone, then sure, we can make them in New Jersey or Texas.
Fraser Johnson, a supply chain expert from Ivey Business School in Canada, said the US does not have the factories or flexible workforce needed to build iPhones.
He added, “Training 200,000 to 300,000 people to assemble iPhones just isn't realistic.
Apple has been asked for a comment.