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Technology giant Apple has secured cargo flights to transport 600 tonnes of iPhones, or 1.5 million units, to the United States from India as it ramps up production there in a bid to beat President Donald Trump's tariffs, sources told Reuters.
Details of the push offer insight into the privately held US smartphone company's strategy to navigate around Trump's tariffs and build up inventory of its popular iPhones in the United States, one of its biggest markets.
Analysts have warned that US iPhone prices could rise, given Apple's high reliance on imports from China, the main hub for device manufacturing, which is subject to Trump's highest tariff of 125%.
Apple "wanted to beat the tariff," said one of the sources familiar with the planning.
The company 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, from 30 hours.
About six cargo planes with a capacity of 100 tons each have flown since March, one of them this week just as the new tariffs came into effect, the source and an Indian government official said.
The packaged weight of an iPhone 14 and its charging cable comes to about 350 grams, Reuters measurements show, implying a total load of 600 tons that amounts to about 1.5 million iPhones, after accounting for some of the packaging weight.
Apple and India's aviation ministry did not respond to a request for comment. All sources requested anonymity because the strategy and discussions were private. Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year worldwide, with Counterpoint Research estimating that a fifth of total iPhone imports to the United States now come from India and the rest from China.
Trump has steadily increased U.S. tariffs on China, reaching 125% as of Wednesday, up from 54% previously. At the 54% tariff rate, the $1,599 cost of the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max in the United States would have risen to $2,300, calculations based on forecasts from Rosenblatt Securities show.
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