Apple redirects 97% of Indian-made iPhones to the US to lessen tariffs
Apple manufacturer Foxconn's iPhone exports to the States have risen from 50% of Indian production to 97%, as Apple tries to mitigate the impact of Trump's tariffs.
A render of what the iPhone 17 Slim could look like
It was already reported in May 2025 that Foxconn had doubled its India to US exports of the iPhone. Despite Trump's telling Tim Cook to stop manufacturing in India, it remains the case that it's impossible to make iPhones in the US.
Even as Trump changes his "reciprocal" tariffs on a whim, it remains the case that he levies a lesser charge on Apple for importing from India than from China. Consequently, Apple has been rerouting its supply and distribution lines to minimize the impact of tariffs.
Now according to Reuters, more detailed figures have emerged regarding Foxconn's increased exports to the States. Specifically, it's claimed that 97% of all iPhones made by Foxconn in India between March 2025 and May 2025, were exported to the US.
The new figures do not state the number of iPhones produced, but on average in 2024, 50% of Foxconn iPhones went to the States. For the whole of 2024, Foxconn's India iPhone shipments to the US were worth $3.7 billion.
Now they are worth an estimated $4.4 billion -- for just January to May, 2025.
Based on customs import data, the figures for March 2025 alone were a record $1.3 billion worth of devices shipped to the States. In May 2025, the figure dropped slightly to just under $1 billion.
The remaining 3% of Foxconn's production in India is likely to have gone to domestic resellers in the country. Apple was already expanding Indian production, so comparable figures are not possible, but previous reports suggest that just under half of iPhones made in the region used to be intended for the local market.
What happens next
Apple will continue to expand in India, and it will not reshore iPhone production to the US. There is neither the skilled labor force nor the facilities to manufacture iPhones in America.
During Apple's last earnings call, Tim Cook said that Apple anticipated spending $900 million on tariffs in the quarter up to the end of June 2025. That expectation, though, was on the presumption that there would be no further tariff changes.
There were further tariff changes. Reportedly just as punishment for Cook not attending a Trump event, the president announced a new 25% tariff, solely on iPhones. That was later expanded to include other smartphones, for "fairness" but likely legal reasons, as an iPhone-only tariff isn't strictly legal.
Given the volatility of Trump's administration, it seems certain that more tariffs will come. That's especially since the White House has pre-judged a national security investigation and already announced that its findings will lead to more tariffs.
Prior to Cook's apparent falling out with Trump, the Apple CEO had been noted for managing relations with the president. As part of that keeping that relationship going, in May 2025, Apple was said to be looking for ways to raise iPhone 17 prices, without publicly blaming the tariffs.
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Comments
The article is also over 2 years old, and thus not indicative of the what is going on today.
Apple has been using India for iPhone assembly for 8 years.