Apple's India Exports To Emerge Unscathed From Trump Tariffs, For Now
India currently accounts for more than a fifth of global iPhone production and has already surpassed China to become the top supplier of the device to the US market.
Apple Inc.’s iPhone exports to the US from India will remain untouched by President Donald Trump’s latest 25% tariffs on the South Asian nation, for now.
The Trump administration in April exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, in a major reprieve to companies such as Apple and Nvidia Corp. Most of these electronic devices aren’t made in the US.
India currently accounts for more than a fifth of global iPhone production and has already surpassed China to become the top supplier of the device to the US market.
A higher US tariff on India — if the exemptions go — could potentially make locally-assembled iPhones globally pricey compared to Apple products made in Vietnam or China.
Apple has ramped up production in India over the past four years as it tries to diversify away from China in the aftermath of harsh coronavirus restrictions. The US tech giant’s expansion has become the poster child for Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ drive — the government has constantly used Apple’s growing manufacturing in the country as an example to woo global investors including Tesla Inc. and chipmakers such as Micron Technology Inc.
The US Commerce Department is currently probing sectors deemed vital to national security, such as semiconductors, under Section 232 in the Trade Expansion Act. Till those are complete, there will be no levies on smartphone exports to the US. That includes iPhones made in India.
The probes though, are widely expected to result in levies on a range of foreign-made products. Trump is already using that authority to tax imports of steel and aluminum. Those tariffs are hitting even household items made of steel and aluminum, such as fishing reels and brooms.
Trump could also use 232 powers to levy duties on imports of iPhones into the US. That could drive Apple to squeeze suppliers, including those in India, and potentially force the tech giant to make iPhones pricey for US customers.
Trump is known to change his stance frequently. After announcing the shock tariff, he later added that the US and India were still in talks.
