Apple Exported iPhones Worth Rs 1.5 Trillion From India: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The US tech giant Apple exported iPhones worth over Rs 1.5 trillion ($17.4 billion) from India in the last fiscal year, said Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.

This move underscores the US tech giant’s efforts to diversify its operations away from China.

India saw Rs 2 lakh crore smartphone exports in a fiscal, a 54 per cent jump from the previous year, said Ashwini Vaishnaw at a briefing in New Delhi.

Following the Covid shutdowns in China, which disrupted manufacturing operations, Apple’s footprint in India has grown. Apple suppliers such as Foxconn and Tata Group have increased local iPhone assembly. The Tata Group’s electronics manufacturing unit has acquired Wistron and Pegatron’s Indian facilities.

The tariff imposed by the Trump administration on China could push the US tech giant to move more manufacturing to India and Southeast Asia. Donald Trump threatened an additional 50 per cent tariff on Chinese imports if China does not withdraw a recent 34 per cent retaliatory tariff hike.

Anticipating tariff hikes, Apple has been stocking up its inventory and steering more devices manufactured in India to the US market, reported Bloomberg. Donald Trump will also impose a “reciprocal tariff” of 27 per cent on India, which is lower than China.

According to a news report, Apple has flown five planes full of iPhones and other products from India to the US in three days during the final week of March in order to avoid the 10 per cent reciprocal tariff imposed by the Trump administration, which took effect on April 5.

(With Inputs from Bloomberg)