Apple is scrambling to increase its iPhone output from India as it tries to blunt the financial blow from President Trump’s newly implemented tariffs on Chinese imports — tariffs that could send the price of an iPhone soaring past $2,000, according to analysts.
The strategy is expected to serve as a stopgap while the company seeks a waiver from the stiff import taxes, similar to the exemption it secured during Trump’s previous term, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
As part of the administration’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs, goods from China now face a steep 54% tax, while products imported from India are subject to a lesser but still significant 26% rate.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump warned Monday that China could face an additional 50% levy if it doesn’t roll back its own 34% retaliatory tariffs on American goods by Tuesday.
Experts estimate that the existing 54% tariff alone could tack on more than $1,000 to the cost of Apple’s flagship smartphone — potentially pushing the newest iPhones to a jaw-dropping price of around $2,300.
Apple is projected to manufacture roughly 25 million iPhones in India this year, an increase of about 10 million units compared to prior years, according to Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan, speaking to the WSJ.
If Apple decides to reroute all of those India-made units to U.S. customers, it would be able to fulfill about half of this year’s American demand, Mohan noted.
President Trump has described the “Liberation Day” tariffs as a bold step toward economic sovereignty.
The goal, he said, was to compel companies to invest more heavily in American production infrastructure.
Critics, however, warn that such a shift could send consumer prices skyrocketing.
“If consumers want a $3,500 iPhone we should make them in New Jersey or Texas or another state,” research firm Wedbush said in a recent memo.
Though much of the iPhone’s supply chain is still rooted in China, Apple has steadily moved more assembly operations to India, enabling it to designate those units as Indian-made.
Even so, most of the intricate manufacturing remains tied to China, particularly through long-standing partners like Foxconn.
At the same time, Apple has been scaling up production of other products—such as iPads, AirPods, and Apple Watches—in Vietnam, a country now hit with a 46% tariff.
In response to the tariff upheaval, Apple has committed to pouring $500 billion into the U.S. economy.
CEO Tim Cook said the company plans to add 20,000 jobs and build a new manufacturing plant in Houston that will produce AI servers used to support artificial intelligence features on devices like the iPhone.
{Matzav.com}