Foxconn ships 97% of India-made iPhones to US to dodge Trump's China tariffs

India Today

10 hours ago

Apple is now sending most of its India-made iPhones to the United States, in a move that appears aimed at avoiding high US tariffs on products made in China. According to customs data reported by Reuters, almost 97% of iPhones exported by Foxconn from India between March and May went to the US, which is a sharp rise from the 2024 average of 50.3%.The numbers show that Apple has shifted its export focus from a mix of countries to mainly serving the U.S. market. Earlier, Indian exports were sent to places like the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the UK.Between March and May, Foxconn exported iPhones worth $3.2 billion from India. Of this, 97% were shipped to the United States. In May alone, iPhone shipments from India to the U.S. were close to $1 billion. This was the second-highest on record, just behind March, when exports touched $1.3 billion.U.S. President Donald Trump recently said that China will face 55% tariffs after the two countries agreed on a new plan to ease some of the levies. However, this plan is still waiting for approval. At one point, the tariffs had crossed triple-digit levels.India currently faces a basic 10% tariff, just like most U.S. trading partners. The country is also trying to avoid a 26% 'reciprocal' duty that Trump had announced and later paused in April.Trump had also criticised Apple's increasing production in India. In May, he said he had told Apple CEO Tim Cook, '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,' referring to the United States.From January to May 2025, Foxconn exported iPhones worth $4.4 billion from India to the U.S. This is already more than the $3.7 billion exported in the whole of 2024.To speed up shipments and reduce costs, Apple also chartered planes in March to transport iPhone 13, 14, 16, and 16e models worth around $2 billion directly to the U.S. The company has also requested Indian airport officials to cut down customs clearance time at Chennai airport, one of the main export centres for iPhones, from around 30 hours to just six.Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said, 'We expect made-in-India iPhones to account for 25% to 30% of global iPhone shipments in 2025, compared to 18% in 2024.'Tata Electronics, a smaller iPhone supplier for Apple in India, also shipped most of its production to the U.S. in recent months. During March and April, 86% of its exports were sent to the U.S., according to customs records. Data for May was not available.Tata Electronics, part of India's Tata Group, began exporting iPhones in July 2024. That year, only 52% of its exports went to the U.S. The company did not comment on the figures.Must Watch
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