India’s iPhone exports to the U.S. soared an estimated 76%. But Trump, Beijing won’t make further growth easy
“This latest trade war with China, is the type of disturbance that Apple has long been trying to prepare itself for,” says Le Xuan Chiew, a research manager at Omdia.
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Shipments of iPhones from India to the U.S. rose 76% in April year on year, estimates from a technology market analyst firm shows. The surge comes as Apple accelerates its “made in India” plans, which analysts say will meet pushback from President Donald Trump and Beijing.
The data from Canalys, now part of Omdia, showed that U.S. iPhones shipped from India in April reached roughly 3,000,000. That’s a stark contrast to shipments from China over the same period, which fell about 76% from last year to just 900,000.
According to Le Xuan Chiew, a research manager at Omdia, the April numbers show the aggressive measures Apple has taken to adapt to Washington’s tariffs against China, where Apple manufactures most of its iPhones.
“This latest trade war with China, is the type of disturbance that Apple has long been trying to prepare itself for,” he said, adding that the country had first started investing heavily into supply chains in India during the Covid-19 pandemic.
India also surpassed China in iPhone shipments to the United States in March, according to Omdia’s estimates. The uptick came ahead of Trump’s first iteration of “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2. The amount of shipments that month was unusually high and appeared to be the result of the company’s stockpiling, according to Chiew.
The Trump administration’s decision to exempt iPhones and other consumer electronics from his reciprocal tariffs on April 11 did not reverse those trends, with Apple CEO Tim Cook in early may reiterating plans for most iPhone’s sold in the U.S. to be manufactured in India.
IPhones imported from China under Trump’s current term tariffs still face an additional 30% of duties, while the baseline tariff rate is currently 10% for most other countries, including India.
reports from local outlets in India, Beijing has tried to make it harder for the country to access the high-tech machinery and talent from China needed to further support Apple’s suppliers in India.
Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC that Apple’s India plans will pose some challenges regarding logistics, distribution and navigating complex supply chains in the country. However, India is nevertheless expected to remain a “life raft” for Apple under the tariff situation.
“Producing iPhones in the U.S. is a fairy tale in our view and Apple will continue to plow ahead on the India path. Cook will look to negotiate with Trump but India is the focus and not changing.”
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