Foxconn ships 97% of iPhones from India to US as Apple dodges China tariffs

Nearly every iPhone that Foxconn exported from India between March and May went straight to the United States, customs data reviewed by Reuters show. Shipments during the three-month stretch were valued at $3.2 billion, with an average 97 per cent heading to US shores — a sharp jump from the 50 per cent monthly average recorded through 2024.

The redirection underscores Apple’s bid to dodge steep US tariffs on Chinese goods. Earlier, Indian-made iPhones were dispersed to markets such as the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Britain; now they are almost exclusively US-bound. The shift comes as Washington prepares even higher levies on Chinese products. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China “will face 55 per cent tariffs” if a tentative plan to ease triple-digit duties wins final approval.

May 2025 sees near-record export volume from India

In May 2025 alone, Foxconn’s India factories shipped nearly $1 billion worth of iPhones to the United States — the second-highest monthly tally on record after the $1.3 billion peak in March. For the first five months of 2025, Foxconn has already dispatched $4.4 billion in iPhones to the US, surpassing its full-year 2024 total of $3.7 billion.

Trump criticises Apple’s expansion strategy in India

“We are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here,” Trump recalled telling CEO Tim Cook in May. India currently faces a baseline 10 per cent US tariff — similar to most partners — but is negotiating to stave off a 26 per cent “reciprocal” duty announced and then paused by Trump in April.

To keep iPhones flowing, Apple chartered planes in March to move iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models worth about $2 billion directly to US buyers. The company has also pressed authorities at Chennai airport — its main export hub — to shrink customs-clearance times from 30 hours to six, Reuters previously reported.

Tata Electronics ramps up iPhone shipments to US

Foxconn is not alone. Tata Electronics, Apple’s smaller Indian supplier, shipped an average 86 per cent of its March-April iPhone output to the United States — up from 52 per cent across 2024.

India is pushing to become a global smartphone manufacturing hub, but high import taxes on components continue to make local assembly more expensive than in many competing nations. Historically, Apple has sold over 60 million iPhones a year in the US, with roughly 80 per cent of them made in China. The latest export numbers suggest that this balance is now beginning to shift — and rapidly — in India’s favour.