Apple flies in 1.5 million iPhones from India to dodge Trump tariffs on China – Firstpost

Tech big Apple has quietly chartered a collection of cargo flights from India to the US, ferrying as many as 1.5 million iPhones in a high-stakes logistical manoeuvre to beat a contemporary wave of tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump on imports from China, Reuters cited a number of sources as saying.

The unprecedented airlift, involving round 600 tonnes of units, confirmed Apple’s behind-the-scenes scramble to protect its profitable US market from the monetary fallout of Trump’s sweeping tariff regime, which has pushed import duties on Chinese language electronics to a staggering 125 per cent.

By comparability, iPhone imports from India are at the moment topic to a 26 per cent tariff, which stays briefly suspended following Trump’s determination this week to pause most non-China tariffs for 90 days.

The previous president has constantly ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese language items in his bid to punish Beijing over commerce practices— a method that has despatched shockwaves by international provide chains.

“Apple wished to beat the tariff,” one supply aware of the planning stated.

‘Inexperienced hall’ for Apple at Chennai airport

In its rush to get iPhones into the US earlier than new tariffs kicked in, Apple efficiently lobbied Indian authorities to fast-track customs clearance at Chennai airport in Tamil Nadu— one in all its key manufacturing hubs. The method, which as soon as took greater than a day, was reduce to only six hours beneath what insiders described as a “inexperienced hall” association.

The streamlined clearance mannequin mimics Apple’s logistics playbook in elements of China, the place the corporate has lengthy relied on devoted lanes to maneuver items swiftly by customs. Six cargo jets— every with a 100-tonne capability— have reportedly flown out of Chennai since March, one in all them simply this week because the tariffs got here into impact.

Calculations based mostly on packaging weights counsel the overall haul concerned roughly 1.5 million iPhones, principally iPhone 14 fashions, together with equipment.

Sunday shifts and tariff stress

Apple has been attempting to scale back its dependence on China, whereas ramping up manufacturing in India. The corporate has pushed for a 20 per cent surge in iPhone output in India in current months, achieved by including extra employees and increasing operations at Foxconn’s largest Indian plant to incorporate Sundays— usually a non-working day.

Two sources confirmed that the Foxconn facility in Chennai, which produced 20 million iPhones final 12 months, is now working seven days per week to fulfill the demand.

Industrial customs knowledge reveals Foxconn shipments from India to the US soared to $770 million in January and $643 million in February— a dramatic enhance from the month-to-month vary of $110 million to $331 million seen within the prior 4 months. Most of these shipments have been offloaded at airports in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

A big gamble that paid off— for now

The urgency behind Apple’s airlift is rooted in easy arithmetic. At a 125% tariff price, the worth of a high-end iPhone 16 Professional Max within the US would surge from $1,599 to roughly $2,300, in line with projections by Rosenblatt Securities.

Analysts have warned such will increase might curb demand and injury Apple’s US market share.

Trump’s determination to pause non-China tariffs for 90 days buys Apple treasured time, however the specter of long-term disruption stays. India now accounts for an estimated 20 per cent of all iPhone imports into the US, in line with Counterpoint Analysis— a determine that’s more likely to rise because the tech big builds new factories with suppliers Foxconn and Tata, each of that are increasing operations throughout the nation.

With inputs from Reuters