Tariff impact: Samsung to up India Play
Samsung Electronics is planning to diversify its smartphone production, shifting some manufacturing from Vietnam to India and other countries to serve the US market. This strategic move aims to mitigate the potential impact of tariffs on goods imported from Vietnam.
Samsung currently caters to the majority of the US demand from Vietnam. However, it has started shipping limited quantities to the US from India New York: South Korea's Samsung Electronics is planning to shift smartphone production to multiple countries, including India, from Vietnam for exports to the US, in an effort to offset the impact of impending tariffs."We are ready to produce for the US in multiple factories, including India," said Won-Joon Choi, president & chief operating officer of Mobile eXperience business and head of R&D office at Samsung Electronics. "What we have done is to diversify our factories for the products that we're going to ship to the US."Samsung currently caters to the majority of the US demand from Vietnam while India-made phones are exported to non-US markets, people aware of the details said. However, Samsung has started shipping limited smartphone quantities to the US from India amid the evolving geopolitical situation.As per industry estimates, Samsung can manufacture 70 million phones annually in India and the capacity can be further expanded rapidly. It currently produces about 45 million smartphones in the country.ET reported earlier about Samsung exporting more than ₹30,000 crore ($3.5 billion) worth of smartphones from India in FY25, compared to an estimated $35 billion from Vietnam, with the US accounting for $10 billion.
"A major part of this ($10 billion) could now be shifted to India, depending on the geopolitical developments," said an industry executive, referring to potentially high tariffs that could be levied on Vietnam by the US due to the former's huge trade surplus.The Donald Trump administration paused reciprocal tariffs imposed on most of its trading partners based on their trade surpluses till July 9. At the time, Vietnam faced 46% tariff, far higher than India's 26%. The deadline has since been extended till August 1 for countries to reach a deal with the US. Like India, Vietnam too is trying to negotiate a trade deal with the US.ET had reported in April about Samsung potentially shifting manufacturing to India.Speaking to select journalists after the launch of Samsung's latest flagship devices, Choi said the company would take a call based on the final decision by the Trump administration. "We have already established a system, and we can shift from one to another (country) to respond to the final decision and be more flexible," he said.
(The reporter is in the US at the invitation of Samsung)
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