Apple iPhone exports from China to the US fall 76% as India output surges

In brief: In news that comes as little surprise, Chinese exports of iPhones fell dramatically in April, while those from India increased by 76% year-over-year. It comes as Cupertino focuses more on India as a manufacturing point for its handsets amid the uncertainty of the China tariffs. However, Donald Trump recently threatened a 25% tariff on Apple if it doesn't start making iPhones entirely in the US.

New figures from Canalys, now part of Omdia, show that iPhone imports from China into the US reached 900,000 units in April, marking a 76% year-on-year decrease.

By contrast, the number of US-bound iPhones sent from India last month was around 3 million, marking a 76% rise compared to the same month in April 2024.

The 3.9 million iPhones imported from both countries in April is notably lower than during the other months of 2025. But this is due to Apple transporting five planeloads of iPhones and other products – around 600 tons in all – from India and China to the US over a three-day span during the final week of March, just ahead of Trump's initial 10% tariff. India was also responsible for more iPhone shipments to the US in March.

While the baseline tariff for most countries is 10%, China faces an additional 30% in duties. It's why Apple, which first started producing iPhones in India in 2017, is rapidly moving production to the country from China.

In April, it was reported that as a direct result of the tariffs on China, Apple is racing to move all assembly of iPhones destined for the US market from China to India by the end of 2026.

It's estimated that Apple will need to double its annual iPhone output in India from about 40 million to more than 80 million units to meet its new target. That will require significant investment and expansion of local facilities, but Le Xuan Chiew, a research manager at Omdia, says (via CNBC) India's manufacturing capacity isn't expected to grow fast enough to take the entirety of US demand.

Another problem for Apple arrived last week when Trump gave the company an ultimatum: build iPhones in the US or pay a tariff of at least 25% on its handsets made outside of the country.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S." The warning came soon after the president warned Tim Cook against expanding iPhone assembly in India.

A completely US-made iPhone would not only be near-impossibility due to Apple using 2,700 parts from 187 suppliers, but it could also see the price of the handsets skyrocket. Even if Apple managed to do it, the process would take years.