Apple has reportedly chartered cargo flights to carry 600 tonnes of iPhones from its manufacturing sites in India into the US to get ahead of the new tariffs, according to some sources. The tech giant has also ramped up production in India as it seeks to move away from China as a key manufacturer.
Trump has recently increased tariffs on China to a whopping 145%, which puts pressure on Apple as the majority of its manufacturing is done in China, whereas imports from India will have a 26% tariff. The US president has also called a 90-day pause on the new tariffs, but excluded China from the pause.
According to a source familiar with the planning, Apple lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut down the time required to clear customs at the Chennai airport from 30 hours to 6. A total of six cargo jets with a capacity of 100 tonnes each were flown out since March, with the most recent flight taking place this week.
The weight of an iPhone 14 with its packaging and charging cable is estimated around 350g. When taking some packaging weight into account, the 600 tonne cargo translates to about 1.5 million devices.
Additionally, Apple has intensified production in India by adding workers and operating its biggest Foxconn India factory on Sundays, which are usually holidays. The plant in Chennai produces 20 million iPhones in the previous year, among which are the newest iPhone 15 and 16 models.
As Apple seeks to reduce its dependency on China, India is emerging as a crucial location. The company’s main suppliers have three factories in the country in total, with two more currently being constructed.
(Source: Reuters)
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