As Apple grapples with United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war with China, it has laid out plans to move to Indian assembly of the majority of iPhones it sells in the US by the end of 2026, a move that would double its current output from the South Asian nation and away from China.
The tech giant produces in China 80 percent of the 60 million iPhones sold in the US and this is a key step that would help it mitigate some of the costs it faces amid rising tariffs on China.
Apple, a company worth more than $3 trillion, is reportedly engaged in discussions with manufacturers it works with in India, including Foxconn and the Tata Group to execute this plan
The tech giant has already expanded production in India to counter tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration. The Silicon Valley-based tech giant shipped $2bn worth of iPhones in March, accounting for roughly 600 tonnes of cargo from India to the US — a record for both Tata and Foxconn
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing the country as a hub for global smartphone manufacturing. Earlier this year, the country removed import taxes for some components for mobile phone production – a boost for companies like Apple.
“If you’re charging import tax for intermediary goods, then you cannot actually be competitive versus somebody who does not. Their objective is to be as competitive as they can be to become the leading manufacturing hub,” Babak Hafezi, chief executive officer at Hafezi Capital, an international consulting firm, told Al Jazeera.
Apple has assembled roughly $22bn worth of iPhones in India during the 12-month period ending March 2025, a 60 percent increase from the year prior, per a Bloomberg report. Even with the growth, only 20 percent of the world’s iPhones are made in India.
Roadblocks
The shift in production will cost Apple. According to a Reuters report citing an unnamed source, manufacturing iPhones in India is 5-8 percent more expensive than in China.
“India will help, but it’s not moving the needle on China’s dependence for Apple. It will take years to make this move, as Apple is caught in the tariff storm,” Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities
