India will produce the majority of US iPhones by 2026, according to a report.
Apple is pursuing this objective by negotiating urgently with contract manufacturers Foxconn and Tata.
Ankush Pandey
Highlight
- Apple wants to use Indian factories to produce the majority of its iPhones that are sold in the US.
- This action follows the US administration's imposition of high tariffs on imports from China.
- India's iPhone production costs are 5–8% higher than those of China.
In order to avoid potentially higher tariffs in China, its primary manufacturing base, Apple (AAPL.O) is accelerating its plans to manufacture the majority of its iPhones sold in the By the end of 2026, the United States will be working in Indian factories, a source told Reuters.
The person, who wished to remain anonymous because the planning process is private, stated on Friday that the US tech giant is urgently negotiating with contract manufacturers Foxconn 2317.TW and Tata to accomplish that goal.
Requests for comment from Tata were not immediately answered, and neither Apple nor Foxconn did.
Currently, about 80% of the more than 60 million iPhones that Apple sells in the US each year are manufactured in China. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has positioned India as a center for smartphone manufacturing in recent years, companies still find it costly to manufacture in India due to higher import taxes than in many other nations.
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India's manufacturing costs for iPhones are 5–8% higher than those in China, and in certain situations, the gap can reach 10%, according to the source. Apple has already increased production in India in order to evade the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump; in March, the company shipped about 600 tons of iPhones valued at $2 billion to the US.
Its contractors Foxconn and Tata set records with the shipments from India, with Foxconn alone delivering $1.3 billion worth of smartphones, according to a Reuters story last week.
The US government levied 26% duties on Indian imports in April, which was significantly less than the 100% duty China was then facing. Since then, Washington has suspended most duties, with the exception of China, for three months.
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Since then, Trump's administration has expressed a willingness to defuse the trade conflict between the two biggest economies in the world, which has sparked recessionary concerns.
Apple's plan was first reported by the Financial Times on Friday.
Apple has set up India for a crucial role as it expands its manufacturing outside of China. There are currently three factories run by its two main suppliers, Foxconn and Tata, and two more are being built.
