We’ll have to stop thinking of the iPhone as a product made in China — nearly all Apple’s handsets for sale in the United States are reportedly now assembled in India.
It’s part of Apple’s effort to reduce paying the tariffs President Donald Trump places on most products imported into the U.S., especially ones that come from China.
iPhone: Made in India
iPhone components are made all around the world, then they come together for assembly in factories primarily in Asia. The majority of Apple’s handsets are put together at Foxconn facilities in China, but Trump keeps imposing ever-changing import taxes on products coming from that country.
Apple’s response is to switch to India. CEO Tim Cook said in May, “For the June quarter, we do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. will have India as their country of origin.”
And it’s happening — “Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn from India went to the United States between March and May,” Reuters reported on Friday. The percentage is allegedly 97% and the value of shipped phones during the three-month period reached $3.2 billion.
Tata Electronics, which also assembles iPhone units in India, sent 86% of its output to the U.S. in March and April
Products imported from India currently pay a 10% Trump tariff. Apple currently pays a 20% tax for its electronics coming in from China.
Trump still not happy
Although Apple’s change in iPhone production came as a result of Trump tariffs, it’s not the one the politician wants.
“We are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here,” Trump says he told the Apple CEO.
Instead, Trump wants Apple to move all device assembly to the United States, but that’s virtually impossible.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
