Apple plans to manufacture more than 60 million iPhones a year in India by the end of 2026 for sale in the US

US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of ' reciprocal tariffs ' in April 2025, taking into account the tariffs and non-tariff barriers of the other country, sending a huge shock to the global economy. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Apple plans to switch manufacturing of more than 60 million iPhones sold in the US annually to India instead of China.

Apple aims to source all US iPhones from India in pivot away from China
https://www.ft.com/content/c2be45b8-cfad-4cbb-9a1a-bfd0626be372

Apple 'aims to source all US iPhones from India', reducing reliance on China | Apple | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/25/apple-source-us-iphones-india-china-trump-trade-war

Apple wants nearly every iPhone 18 sold in the US to come from India
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/25/apple-wants-nearly-every-iphone-18-sold-in-the-us-to-come-from-india

China has strongly opposed the reciprocal tariffs introduced by President Trump, and at the time of writing, the United States has imposed an additional tariff of 145% on China and 125% on the United States. Even so, electronic devices such as smartphones and PCs are excluded from the reciprocal tariffs, and it is believed that semiconductors will be subject to tariffs separate from the reciprocal tariffs .

The decision to exclude electronics from the reciprocal tariffs reportedly came after Apple CEO Tim Cook personally called Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to express his concerns and was in touch with other senior White House officials.

President Trump exempted Apple products from tariffs because Apple CEO Tim Cook directly lobbied the Secretary of Commerce and other government officials - GIGAZINE

Apple has invested heavily in China to build a world-leading production line, and through companies such as Foxconn , manufactures the majority of its devices, including iPhones. Although electronic devices are excluded from the reciprocal tariffs, all Chinese products are still subject to a 20% tax, and President Trump's series of tariff policies will be a major blow to Apple.

According to International Data Corporation, an IT analysis company, of the approximately 232.1 million iPhones shipped worldwide in 2024, about 28% (about 65 million) were shipped to the United States.

The Financial Times reported, 'Apple plans to move assembly of all iPhones sold in the US to India as early as 2026, according to people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump's trade war forces the tech giant to pivot away from China.'

The move is in line with Apple's strategy to diversify its supply chain, and the company has previously expanded iPhone manufacturing in India - in fact, Apple airlifted 600 tonnes of iPhones from India after the reciprocal tariffs were announced.

Apple rushes to import 600 tons of iPhones to avoid Trump tariffs - GIGAZINE

However, some are of the opinion that the goal of manufacturing more than 60 million iPhones in India, which are sold in the United States, may be difficult to achieve. According to technology media AppleInsider, at the time of writing, India produces about 40 million iPhones per year, which is just under 20% of the world's iPhone production, but this figure is for both domestic sales and exports.

It has been reported that Apple aims to increase the proportion of iPhones manufactured in India by 10% by 2025, but even if it achieves this goal, it will still be far from the number of iPhones it exports to the U.S. AppleInsider pointed out that 'more realistically, if Apple includes the iPhones that it is required to manufacture and sell in India, Apple would have to increase iPhone production in India by about 25 million units per year, which would be even more difficult.'

In addition, to increase iPhone production in India, cooperation from China, which is already a manufacturing base, is needed. However, China is resisting the move of iPhone manufacturing to India, and there have been reported cases where applications to export production machinery to India have been rejected without reason.

China resists relocation of iPhone production base to India, iPhone 17 production machines have been rejected for export - GIGAZINE