Apple CEO Tim Cook walks the tightrope between Apple’s strategy and Trump’s tariffs. Photo by Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images
As Apple prepares to unveil its iPhone 17 line today (Sept. 9), the company is widely expected to introduce its slimmest model yet. But that’s not the only change in store—this year’s new iPhones will also be manufactured in India from the start, underscoring Apple’s push to reduce its dependence on China and sidestep President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s four iPhone 17 models have all been produced in India ahead of launch. The company is expanding its presence in the South Asian nation by ramping up production across five factories, including those owned by India’s Tata Group and Apple’s longtime supplier, Taiwan’s Foxconn.
In recent years, Apple has steadily shifted more of its production to India in an effort to diversify away from its long-standing reliance on Chinese manufacturing. This strategy accelerated after Trump’s tariffs took aim at China, which, as of early this year, still accounted for around 90 percent of U.S. iPhone imports. In May, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that would no longer be the case, outlining plans to shift the majority of U.S.-bound iPhone production to India, with China remaining the primary hub for markets outside the U.S.
The shift is already showing results. Between April and July, India exported $7.5 billion worth of iPhones, according to Bloomberg, roughly doubling the pace of exports from the previous year. While Trump has since imposed 50 percent tariffs on India, smartphones remain exempt.
Still, Apple hasn’t escaped the broader costs of Trump’s trade policies. During the April–June quarter, tariffs cost Apple $800 million, Cook said. He warned last month that those costs could climb to $1.1 billion in the current quarter, largely due to tariffs on Chinese goods.
Tim Cook continues to navigate a delicate relationship with Trump
To stay on Trump’s good side, Cook has spent recent months courting the administration. In February, Apple pledged $500 billion for domestic initiatives across the U.S., and last month added another $100 billion. The effort seems to have paid off. Trump announced at the time that Apple would be exempt from incoming semiconductor tariffs.
Whether Apple’s tariff-free path in India will last is uncertain. Trump has publicly criticized the company’s production shift, telling Cook in May that he wanted Apple to build products in the U.S., not India.
This isn’t Cook’s first attempt to navigate Apple through tariff battles. During Trump’s first term, he personally lobbied the President to avoid new levies. In 2018, Apple dodged 10 percent tariffs on some of its most popular products after Cook’s repeated White House visits. A year later, the company skirted 15 percent duties on Chinese consumer goods shortly after Trump toured an Apple assembly plant in Texas.
