Regardless of quite a few obstacles from each Trump and China, Apple’s Indian ambitions look like withdrawing, with a brand new evaluation exhibiting each manufacturing and gross sales hovering to new heights.
Information from Canalys, shared by Yahoo Finance, reveals that Apple’s iPhone manufacturing in India elevated to 23.9 million models within the first half of 2025. That represents a 53% development in output from the identical interval in 2024, and means that India might be shifting into a number one place to provide iPhones to the tariff-stricken US market.
Apple has been pursuing a “Made in India” technique for years to diversify its provide chain and scale back its reliance on China. Nevertheless, that’s kicked into excessive gear over the previous few months, because the Trump administration has levied exceptionally excessive tariffs on Chinese language imports to the US.
Whereas President Trump has performed an on-again-and-off-again sport with tariffs towards most nations, the levies on China rose as excessive as 145% in early April. Nevertheless, the White Home backed off by mid-Might, decreasing them to the fundamental 10% “reciprocal” tariffs that had been utilized to most different nations in April, plus the preliminary 20% tariff from a March govt order meant to fight fentanyl trafficking.
Whereas the iPhone acquired an exclusion from the worst of those, possible partly because of Tim Cook dinner’s lobbying efforts, that’s not a situation that’s anticipated to final. From the beginning, each President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made it clear that the pause on technology-related levies was merely meant to re-evaluate the state of affairs and decide a extra applicable technique to tariff these merchandise.
For sure, Apple has been engaged on backup plans in case the price of delivery iPhones from China turns into prohibitive. There’s already been hypothesis that some manufacturing may transfer to Brazil, however that nation doesn’t have practically the capability to satisfy US demand. Even India, which has had a five-year head begin, was anticipated to have bother maintaining.
Nonetheless, this newest report appears promising. The Canalys information signifies that India is now contributing near 17% of Apple’s world iPhone manufacturing, and it’s anticipated to hit 25% by 2027. Apple has additionally begun producing higher-end fashions in India, such because the iPhone 16 Professional. A rise in demand for premium smartphones amongst shoppers in India has additionally led to a big rise in iPhone revenues, which had been up 28% year-over-year within the first quarter of 2025.
It stays to be seen whether or not this technique can repay. Trump has made it clear he’s not a fan of iPhones being inbuilt India, or wherever else aside from the nice previous US of A. Nevertheless, most analysts imagine that’s a pipe dream because of Apple’s globally advanced provide chain. As a substitute, Apple has been making extra sensible strikes that it undoubtedly hopes will appease Trump and provides his administration one thing within the “win” column, together with ramping up US chip manufacturing through TSMC and committing to a $500 million funding in US uncommon earth magnets.
It’s in the end unclear the place US tariffs on India will land, as the 2 nations are nonetheless engaged in bilateral commerce negotiations. The Trump administration declared a 26% “reciprocal” tariff on India in April, on the similar time it imposed a 145% tariff on China. Nevertheless, it subsequently walked this again to the fundamental 10%, extending the deadline to August 1, 2025. So, Apple could pay a value both means. Nevertheless, Indian tariffs will nearly definitely be lower than the levies towards imports from China, which is taken into account to be public enemy primary in terms of commerce.
Apple’s third-quarter earnings name is scheduled for subsequent Thursday, July 31, once we’ll undoubtedly hear extra about what it’s doing to navigate its world provide chain by the uneven waters of the US tariff wars.