The Donald Trump administration is engaged in a 'tariff war' with China, and over the past year, Apple has reduced its share of iPhone production in China, which it relied on heavily, while significantly increasing production in India.
According to Bloomberg News on the 13th (local time), an official stated that the iPhone production volume in India from April of last year to last month reached a total of $22 billion (about 31 trillion won, based on factory shipment prices).
This is an increase of nearly 60% compared to the same period last year, and as a result, India's share of global iPhone production rose to about 20%. Additionally, according to the Indian Ministry of Technology, of the iPhones produced in India during this period, goods worth 1.5 trillion rupees (about 25 trillion won) were exported abroad.
In particular, officials noted that after President Trump announced a policy of imposing reciprocal tariffs in February, exports of iPhones from India to the United States surged.
According to Reuters, Apple mobilized six charter planes starting last month to urgently transport approximately 1.5 million iPhones, weighing 600 tons, from India to the United States to avoid reciprocal tariffs.
Apple is reportedly planning to increase the supply of iPhones produced in India to the U.S. market. President Trump is concentrating high tariffs on products from China, thus deciding to supply products manufactured in India, which has comparatively lower tariff rates, to reduce tariff burdens.
However, the Trump administration announced on the 12th local time that smartphones and computers were excluded from the reciprocal tariff imposition. As a result, the additional reciprocal tariff of 125% imposed by the U.S. on Chinese products will not apply to iPhones produced in China, but it was reported that the 20% tariff imposed on China separately from the reciprocal tariff will be maintained.
As a result, Indian-produced iPhones, which are exempt from smartphone reciprocal tariffs, have become more price-competitive in the U.S. market compared to Chinese products that are subjected to a 20% tariff.
Apple is trying to lower its reliance on production in China, but with around 200 suppliers, it is in a difficult position to quickly relocate production to other countries due to high dependency on China.
Bloomberg observed that, particularly as the Trump administration has clearly expressed its intention to ensure iPhones are produced in the United States, the possibility of Apple transferring its production to the U.S. is low due to reasons such as a lack of production facilities and personnel.
Meanwhile, Apple began producing older iPhones in India in 2017 but has been working to diversify its iPhone production to India after experiencing significant production disruptions at its Chinese factories during the COVID-19 pandemic.