Apple is petitioning the Indian government to rethink its policies regarding manufacturing. The move comes as Apple looks to lessen its reliance on China as a manufacturing base.
According to a new report, Apple is pushing for the Indian government to adopt reduced import duties. These would cover components that would later be re-exported.
The Indian government is currently considering “negligible to null duties” on these components. This would benefit Apple, which manufactures iPhones at its Bengaluru facility. As per a recent story, it is increasingly aiming to ship these to other markets like Europe.
Apple doesn’t have any of its own factories in India. However, it deals with a number of companies who are embracing India as a manufacturing location. Apple recently asked its suppliers to explore the possibility of moving their manufacturing out of China.
Apple’s India manufacturing
For the past couple years, Wistron has been building the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s at its factory in Bengaluru. Earlier this year, it also started building the iPhone 7 at the same factory. It has also received approval from the Indian government to expand its manufacturing facilities in the country. Foxconn is additionally set to start building high-end flagship iPhones in India this summer.
Apple has largely failed to make India a big market for iPhones. Recently it changed up its strategy by stopping selling lower end iPhones in the country. But it is still appealing as a manufacturing base.
Right now, India’s policies put it at a disadvantage against other manufacturing countries such as China and Vietnam. However, it has plenty of other advantages — especially at a time when the threat of China tariffs continues to loom large.
Source: Financial Express
Via: Money Control
