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Apple turns to Japan to ease China's rare-earth magnet supply squeeze
Surajeet Das Gupta New Delhi
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Apple Inc's Telangana factory, which is run by Foxconn to assemble its AirPods, is procuring rare-earth magnets for wireless earbuds from Japan in order to get over the Chinese government squeeze on their supplies to the company. This squeeze had forced the company to close down the plant for two weeks till June-end — a move that was unprecedented.
Government sources privy to the development say that the quick action by Apple Inc has helped the company to restart production of AirPods at the factory in Kongara Kalan from the beginning of July. To ensure continuity in production, Apple Inc
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump eyes 100% tariff on semiconductor import, to exempt Apple after $600 billion commitment
Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on imports that include semiconductors, though would exempt companies moving production back to the United States, as Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and the president announced a fresh $100 billion investment plan from the Oval Office. US President Donald Trump reaches to shake Apple CEO Tim Cook's hands in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on the day they presented Apple's announcement of a $100 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing.(REUTERS) 'We're going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors, but the good news for companies like Apple is, if you're building in the United States, or have committed to build, without question, committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,' Trump told reporters. 'So in other words, we'll be putting a tariff of approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors. But if you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge,' Trump said. 'Even though you're building and you're not producing yet, in terms of the big numbers of jobs and all of things building, if you're building, there will be no charge.' The announcement amounts to a major victory for Apple and Cook, who have faced escalating threats from Trump's tariffs that threatened to ratchet up the cost of producing their signature phones and computers. Apple's $100 billion US investment will include a new manufacturing program designed to bring more of Apple's production to the US. The company's American Manufacturing Program partners include glassmaker Corning Inc., Applied Materials Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and others, the company said. Corning will dedicate an entire factory in Kentucky to Apple glass production, increasing that company's workforce in the state by 50%, the iPhone maker said. Corning was already a supplier to Apple, making glass for the very first iPhone at the same factory. Apple had previously pledged to spend $500 billion in the US over the next four years, a slight acceleration over its prior investments and previously announced plans, adding about $39 billion in spending and an additional 1,000 jobs annually. The announcement will bring Apple's cumulative commitment to $600 billion. The previously-planned $500 billion is said to include work on a new server manufacturing facility in Houston, a supplier academy in Michigan and additional spending with its existing suppliers in the country. The increased pledge comes as Trump escalates a tariff push that's set to raise costs for Apple throughout its international supply chains. Trump plans to whack India — a key production market for Apple — with 50% tariffs, the first half of which takes effect just after midnight alongside a raft of other country-specific levies designed to reduce trade imbalances. The other half, to penalize India for buying Russian energy, will take effect later this month. The president has said he could unveil separate levies on all products containing semiconductor chips as soon as next week. Cook, who attended the president's inauguration and donated to his inaugural committee, has pushed for tariff exemptions for his company's iPhones. Most iPhones sold in the US come from India, while the bulk of other products, including Apple Watches, iPads and MacBooks, are manufactured in Vietnam, which was hit with a 20% tariff. While details of those tariffs — and how firms would qualify for exemptions — have yet to be released, Trump singled out Cook's Apple as an example of how to avoid the increased levies. Cook's investment echoes dozens of pledges from companies since Trump won the 2024 presidential election, with CEOs flying to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and then to the White House once he was sworn in, to court the new administration and announce hundreds of billions of dollars worth of new deals. Many of these investments were already in the works prior to the November election, or were on par with previous investment trends, Bloomberg previously reported. Economists have also questioned whether all of the pledged spending, and associated job opportunities, will come to fruition. Apple's promised investments, while substantial, fall short of the full shift to US-based production that Trump and top White House officials have envisioned and encouraged. Earlier this year, the president threatened to impose a tariff of at least 25% on Apple if it didn't move manufacturing of the iPhone to the US, a day after he met with Cook at the White House. Cook told the president that final iPhone assembly 'will be elsewhere for a while,' though highlighted that several components are being made in the US. Trump, seemingly satisfied, praised the Apple leader's plans. 'Look, he's not making this kind of an investment anywhere in the world, not even close,' Trump said of Cook. 'He's coming back. I mean, Apple's coming back to America.'
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Brazil's Lula plans joint response to Trump tariffs with Modi, other Brics leaders
Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva has called for a joint Brics response to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, positioning himself as a defender of multilateralism at a time of rising global trade an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Lula criticised Trump's recent tariff wave, saying they reflect an attempt to dismantle the global multilateral order in favour of unilateral deals dominated by the United President Trump is doing is tacit -- he wants to dismantle multilateralism, where agreements are made collectively within institutions, and replace it with unilateralism, where he negotiates one-on-one with other countries," Lula said. "What bargaining power does a small Latin American country have against the United States? None."LULA TO SPEAK WITH BRICS LEADERSLula said he will reach out to Brics leaders -- including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders -- to understand how each country to formulate a collective response."I'm going to try to discuss with them about how each one is doing in this situation, what the implications are for each country, so we can make a decision," Lula said."It's important to remember that the Brics have ten countries at the G20."Lula, who held the Brics presidency, said Brazil will use its leadership to bring member countries together -- including Russia, South Africa and other emerging economies -- to stand up for multilateral trade and collective has recently labelled Brics as "anti-American" and threatened additional 10% tariffs on its member nations. The move followed last month's Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro and is seen as part of Trump's broader campaign to reassert US trade dominance ahead of the 2026 ACCUSES BOLSONARO OF INCITING US TARIFFS ON BRAZILThe Brazilian president also accused his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, of working behind the scenes to provoke Trump into targeting Brazil with punitive trade measures."He (Bolsonaro) is being tried for his actions," Lula told Reuters. "Now I think he should face more legal proceedings because of what he is doing, inciting the United States against Brazil, causing harm to the Brazilian economy, causing harm to Brazilian workers."Lula's remarks follow public statements by So Paulo Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro -- the former president's son -- who recently moved to the United States. Eduardo claimed credit for influencing Trump's White House to impose sweeping 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods, which came into effect on Wednesday. advertisement"There is no precedent in history for a president of the republic and a son, who is a congressman, to go to the United States to incite the president against Brazil," Lula said, calling the Bolsonaros "traitors to the homeland."The tensions are not only about trade. The United States condemned the decision by Brazil's Supreme Court to place former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest before his trial on charges of plotting a coup.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch
NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
"Have To Act Accordingly": Shashi Tharoor Slams US For Additional 25% Tariffs
New Delhi: Slamming the United States for "double standard" for imposing an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian oil, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said US President Donald Trump's move will make "our goods unaffordable to a lot of people in America." He pointed out that while China imports various materials, including more Russian oil than India, the country has received a "90-day break" from the US tariffs. "Uranium, Palladium, there are various things they (US) are importing from Russia. There is, unfortunately, a certain double standard involved. They have given the Chinese a 90-day break, but the Chinese are importing far more Russian oil than we are. So clearly this has not been a particularly friendly gesture from a country we thought was well disposed towards us, an administration that we thought was well disposed," Mr Tharoor told reporters. Suggesting that tariffs also might signal how the friendly relations between India and the US have been affected, the Congress leader mentioned the possibility of "pressures within India" for imposing reciprocal tariffs on American exports to India. "Very clearly, we have to act accordingly, and we will have to learn our lessons from this experience. I think there is certainly a likelihood that there will be some pressure within India now to impose comparable reciprocal tariffs on American exports to India. So I think we're going to have to really start looking at other trading partners much more in these circumstances," Mr Tharoor mentioned. "I don't think that's particularly good news for us and that takes our total tariffs to 50 per cent then that's going to make our goods unaffordable to a lot of people in America and in particularly when you're looking at these percentages you have to compare them with the tariffs being levied on some of our competitors," Mr Tharoor told ANI. Comparing the tariffs on other countries like Pakistan (19 pc), Bangladesh (20 pc), Philippines (19 pc), Indonesia (19), or even Vietnam (20 pc), the Congress leader said that this will effect Indian goods being bought in US, as people will look for the cheapest option. "This means we need to very seriously diversify to other countries and other markets that may be interested in what we have to offer. We now have an FTA with the UK. We are talking to the EU. There are many countries in which hopefully we would be able to, but in the short term, it is definitely a blow," Mr Tharoor told ANI. US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on August 6 imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India. Trump cited matters of national security and foreign policy concerns, as well as other relevant trade laws, for the increase, claiming that India's imports of Russian oil, directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States. Terming the United States' move to impose additional tariffs on India over its oil imports from Russia as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declared that New Delhi will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests. "In an official statement, the MEA said, "The United States has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India." "It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the statement added.
