How Apple 'flew' 5 flights full of iPhones in 72 hours to outpace US tariffs?
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Synopsis
Apple expedited iPhone shipments from India to the US to avoid new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The company stockpiled inventory to temporarily maintain existing pricing, but future price adjustments in key markets like India are being considered.
In the last week of March, Apple flew five planes full of iPhones and other items from India to the US in three days, a top Indian official told The Times of India. The hasty shipments were made in order to avoid a new reciprocal duty of 10% that went into effect on April 5 under the administration of US President Donald Trump. According to sources, despite the taxes, Apple does not presently have any plans to raise retail pricing in India or other regions.
Even though this is normally a slow shipping season, the corporation quickly relocated inventory from manufacturing sites in China and India to the US to lessen the impact. A source claimed that "factories in China, India, and other strategic locations had been shipping products to the US in anticipation of the higher tariffs."
According to the source, Apple will be able to temporarily retain its existing pricing due to this stockpiling. The source further said, "the company will be temporarily protected from the higher prices that it will have to pay for new shipments under the revised tax rates by the reserves that arrived at lower duty." According to reports, Apple's US warehouses are loaded for several months to come.
The source stated that any price increase to counteract this effect must be implemented in important international markets, such as India, and cannot be restricted to the US market alone. The business is examining how its supply chain may be impacted by various tariff regimes across production sites.
The US remains a crucial market for Apple products, and the company is working to avoid transferring increased costs to consumers, which could impact both demand and profit margins.
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Apple's future manufacturing plan may be impacted by the 26% reciprocal tariffs that the Trump administration recently said will go into effect on April 9. As Apple moves more manufacturing away from China, India is probably going to become a more significant part of the company's worldwide production network. Since Apple is now concentrating on producing iPhones and AirPods in India, it effectively has a tariff advantage because Indian exports are subject to a reciprocal duty of 26% to the US, while Chinese goods are subject to a 54% tax.