Apple moves 600 tons of iPhones out of India to dodge Trump tariffs – Reuters
Photo: Apple has shipped 600 tons of iPhones to the United States (Getty Images)
Apple has chartered cargo flights to ship 600 tons of iPhone smartphones to the US from India. The tech giant decided to bypass President Donald Trump's tariffs, reports Reuters.
The American smartphone maker's strategy is aimed at building up stocks of its popular iPhones in the United States, one of its largest markets.
Analysts warn that iPhone prices in the US could rise sharply given Apple's high dependence on imports from China, the main center of device production, which is subject to Trump's highest tariff rate of 125%.
This figure is much higher than the 26% tariff on imports from India, which, however, is currently on hold after Trump announced a 90-day pause this week that excludes China.
Apple “wanted to beat the tariff,” said a Reuters source familiar with the plans.
'Green corridor'
The company has asked Indian airports to reduce the time required to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu to six hours. Previously, it was 30 hours, the source added.
The so-called “green corridor” scheme at the airport of the Indian production center is copied from the model that Apple uses at some airports in China.
According to the source and a representative of the Indian government, about six cargo planes with a capacity of 100 tons each have departed since March, one of them this week, just before the new duties came into effect.
According to Reuters, the weight of the packaged iPhone 14 and its charging cable is about 350 grams, meaning that the total shipment of 600 tons included about 1.5 million iPhones, including the weight of the packaging.
Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year worldwide. Counterpoint Research estimates that one-fifth of total US iPhone imports currently come from India and the rest from China.
Trump has consistently increased US tariffs on Chinese goods, raising them to 125% compared to 54% previously.
According to calculations based on Rosenblatt Securities' forecasts, at a 54% tariff rate, the cost of the top iPhone 16 Pro Max model in the US would increase from $1599 to $2,300.
