Apple Airlifts iPhones From India to Dodge China Tariffs

BySophia Johannson

Apple has launched an unprecedented emergency airlift operation, chartering cargo planes to rush Indian-made iPhones to American consumers as Trump’s 145% tariff on Chinese goods threatens to upend the tech giant’s carefully constructed supply chain. The dramatic maneuver highlights the immediate scramble within global corporations to adapt to rapidly shifting trade policies.

According to a Reuters report cited by The Guardian, the company is airlifting approximately 600 tonnes of iPhones – equivalent to 1.5 million devices – from its manufacturing facilities in India to the United States. This operation represents Apple’s short-term strategy to maintain U.S. market supply while avoiding crippling tariff costs.

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From Backup to Frontline: India’s New Role

India, which currently produces only about 10% of Apple’s iPhones, has suddenly been thrust into a crucial position in the company’s global manufacturing strategy. What began as a secondary production site developed primarily to serve local markets and provide manufacturing diversity has now become a vital lifeline for Apple’s largest and most profitable market.

This rapid pivot demonstrates the company’s agility but also exposes its vulnerability to trade policy shifts. Supply chain experts note that India’s manufacturing capacity cannot simply replace China’s output overnight, creating potential supply constraints as demand shifts to Indian facilities.

“The US economy is not set up to be able to assemble mobile phones. They don’t have the facilities or the flexible labour,” Fraser Johnson, an Apple supply chain expert at Ivey Business School, told The Guardian. This reality makes alternative manufacturing sites like India increasingly valuable.

The Price Tag of Protectionism

For American consumers, the tariff situation creates significant uncertainty about future iPhone prices. If Apple can’t secure exemptions or find alternative manufacturing arrangements, price increases appear inevitable.

UBS analysts estimate that an iPhone 16 Pro Max could see its price jump by 79% from $1,199 to approximately $2,150 if the full tariff impact is passed to consumers. Other Apple products face similar pressures – over 50% of Mac products and 80% of iPads are assembled in China, according to US investment bank Evercore.

Some Americans are already taking defensive measures. Jeff, a 76-year-old semi-retired physician from New Jersey, told The Guardian he recently purchased new Apple devices for his family in anticipation of price increases. “I anticipated that there would be chaos in the supply chain, and probably more chaos in pricing of goods that had any element coming from China,” he explained.

The Global Ripple Effect

While the tariffs directly impact U.S. imports, analysts suggest the consequences could spread globally. Wamsi Mohan of Bank of America predicts Apple might adjust prices worldwide to prevent market arbitrage opportunities, where consumers could purchase devices in lower-priced markets for use in higher-priced regions.

“While Apple has not commented on this, we expect prices will be changed globally to prevent arbitrage,” Mohan stated. This approach would distribute the tariff impact across Apple’s entire customer base rather than concentrating it on U.S. consumers.

Alternatively, Apple could maintain U.S. prices while increasing costs elsewhere. “If there is a cost impact in the US for certain products, but the market is far more competitive there, the company may choose to keep prices flat in the US while recovering the lost margin elsewhere in its global portfolio,” suggested Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president at Forrester Research.

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A Temporary Reprieve

On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of his tariffs, providing Apple with some breathing room. However, if the pause ends without further extensions, a Bank of America Securities analysis suggests a U.S.-assembled iPhone 16 Pro Max could see a price increase of 91% due to tariffs and increased labor costs.

Apple likely has inventory stockpiles covering 30-60 days of demand, according to Professor Johnson, which could help cushion the immediate impact. The company is simultaneously pursuing longer-term strategies, including potentially seeking tariff exemptions as it successfully did during Trump’s first term.

The dramatic airlift operation from India represents just the opening move in what promises to be a complex chess match between global supply chains and national trade policies. For consumers and investors alike, the stakes could not be higher.

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