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Apple’s main Indian suppliers Foxconn and Tata shipped nearly $2bn worth of iPhones to the United States in March, an all-time high, as the US company airlifted devices to bypass Donald Trump’s impending tariffs, customs data shows.
The smartphone maker stepped up production in India and chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones to the United States to ensure sufficient inventory in one of its biggest markets based on concern that the US president’s tariffs would push up costs. At least six cargo jets were used in the operation, which one source described as a way to “beat the tariffs”.
In April, the US administration imposed 26% duties on imports from India, much lower than the more than 100% China was facing at the time. Trump has since paused most duties, except for those on China, for three months.
Foxconn, Apple’s main India supplier, exported smartphones worth $1.31bn in March, its highest ever for a single month, equal to shipments for January and February combined, according to commercially available customs data reviewed by Reuters. This included Apple iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models, and took Foxconn’s total shipments from India to the United States this year to $5.3bn.
Exports from Tata Electronics, another Apple supplier, stood at $612m in March, about 63% higher than the previous month, and included iPhone 15 and 16 models. Apple, Foxconn and Tata did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Customs data showed all Foxconn shipments to the US in March were by air from the Chennai Air Cargo terminal, and landed at various locations, including Los Angeles and New York, with Chicago receiving the majority.
In April, after the flights of phones took off from Chennai, Trump granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones and some other electronics imported largely from China, but later indicated that those exemptions will probably be short-lived.
To expedite shipments, Apple lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu to six hours, down from 30.
