President Trump's 90-day pause on his "reciprocal" tariffs for countries that did not retaliate—excluding China—has allowed Tim Cook's Apple to ramp up production of smartphones, tablets, and laptops in India and Vietnam.
Sources familiar with Apple's supply chains told Nikkei Asia that top suppliers in India were instructed to ramp up iPhone production. Yet the people noted that factory utilization rates were already at maximum levels, making it challenging to bring on significant amounts of new production.
Here's more from the report:
The good news for Apple over the weekend is that U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued updated trade guidance on some of the highest-value goods—such as computers, chips, and smartphones—from reciprocal tariffs (though they remain subject to a 20% basic tariff if made in China). However, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told This Week host Jonathan Karl on Sunday that these consumer devices will be subject to separate tariffs in the coming months.
Last week, Appel scrambled five emergency air freight shipments of iPhones and other products from India and China to the U.S. to avoid the tariff war.
Trade data via the supply chain platform Sayari shows that Foxconn India is a major iPhone supplier.
Nikkei's report also noted that Apple informed suppliers to "accelerate the shift of component production, such as printed circuit boards, to Thailand and other non-China locations."
Meanwhile, Meta, HP, and Dell have also instructed suppliers to increase production in Vietnam and other Southeast Asia countries to avoid China tariffs. The direct result of Trump's trade war is to push the supply chains of US companies out of China and toward friendshoring or re-shoring.