By buld_online 
Nearly all iPhones exported by Foxconn from India between March and May were shipped to the United States, according to customs data reviewed by Reuters. This marks a significant shift from earlier trends and underscores Apple’s efforts to circumvent steep US tariffs on Chinese goods.
The data, reported by Reuters, reveals that Apple has strategically reoriented its India-based exports to focus almost entirely on the US market. Previously, iPhones assembled in India were distributed more broadly to countries such as the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the UK.
Between March and May 2025, Foxconn exported iPhones worth $3.2 billion (approximately ₹27,547 crore) from India, with 97% destined for the US. This is a sharp increase from the 2024 average of just over 50%, according to commercially available customs records cited by Reuters.
In May alone, iPhones worth nearly $1 billion (around ₹8,608 crore) were exported from India to the US. That figure was second only to the record $1.3 billion (₹11,191 crore) worth of shipments in March.
Apple declined to comment on the development, while Foxconn did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The sharp rise in India-to-US shipments comes amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. On Wednesday, former US President Donald Trump announced a 55% tariff on Chinese goods under a new framework, pending approval from both governments. This follows a series of tariff hikes that previously pushed rates into triple digits.
India, meanwhile, faces a standard 10% US import tariff. However, it is seeking to avoid a proposed 26% “reciprocal” tariff, which Trump announced in April before putting it on hold.
Trump has also criticised Apple’s manufacturing shift. Speaking in May, he claimed to have told CEO Tim Cook: “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.”
In just the first five months of 2025, Foxconn exported $4.4 billion (₹37,878 crore) worth of iPhones from India to the US, already surpassing the full-year total of $3.7 billion (₹31,844 crore) recorded in 2024.
To accelerate shipments and sidestep tariffs, Apple has been scaling up India-based manufacturing. In March, the company chartered aircraft to deliver iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models worth around $2 billion (₹17,213 crore) directly to the US. Apple has also lobbied Indian airport authorities to reduce customs clearance times at Chennai Airport, a major export hub, from 30 hours to six, Reuters previously reported.
“We expect made-in-India iPhones to account for 25% to 30% of global iPhone shipments in 2025, compared to 18% in 2024,” said Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Tata Electronics, a smaller iPhone supplier for Apple in India, shipped 86% of its production to the US during March and April, according to the same customs dataset. May figures for Tata were not available. The company only began exporting iPhones in July 2024, with just over half (52%) of last year’s shipments going to the US. Tata declined to comment.
While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted India as a global smartphone manufacturing destination, high import duties on components continue to pose challenges. As a result, local production remains relatively costly when compared with other countries.
Despite Apple’s recent shift, the majority of iPhones sold in the US, where annual sales exceed 60 million units, have historically been made in China, accounting for around 80% of production.