Apple May Move US iPhone Production to India to Avoid Trump’s China Tariffs

Apple is reportedly planning to switch assembly of all iPhones it sells in the U.S. to India as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on China amid President Trump’s trade war.

According to a report by The Financial Times, the company has a goal of producing “the entirety of the more than 60 million iPhones sold annually in the U.S. by the end of 2026.”

Citing people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing internal plans, The Financial Times says that Apple would roughly double its annual iPhone output in India to more than 80 million units.

Apple assembled just over 40 million iPhones in India in the fiscal year through March 2025. It sells more than 60 million iPhones a year in the U.S.

Apple and its suppliers are stepping up efforts to move production away from China, reducing their dependence on the country’s manufacturing base in response to Trump’s trade war.

There were concerns that Apple might have to raise iPhone prices to counter the impact of global trade tariffs introduced by Trump.

Reports emerged of people “panic buying” iPhones at Apple stores, fearing that models like the cheapest iPhone 16 could see a price jump of up to 43%. Meanwhile, it was predicted that higher-end models could face even steeper increases. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, for example, which costs $1,599 today, was estimated to jump to nearly $2,300 if Apple passed the full cost of the tariff onto buyers.

These fears eased after Trump decided to exclude smartphones and computers from the 125% tariffs on imports from China, along with other “reciprocal” tariffs. Experts had warned that such tariffs could cause a sharp increase in electronics prices in the U.S.

However, Apple still faces a separate 20% duty on all Chinese goods. This was introduced as part of the U.S. president’s response to China’s involvement in the U.S. fentanyl crisis.

According to The Guardian, manufacturing iPhones is a complex process involving over 1,000 components from around the world—although final assembly mostly happens in China. Apple closely guards its production details, but analysts estimate that about 90% of its iPhones are assembled there.

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