Apple and Tim Cook may have aligned themselves with President Donald J. Trump's good side, but it is still not enough as the company is now reportedly rushing to stockpile iPhone units from India and China.
In the past few weeks, Apple has reportedly been flying planes full of iPhones from its Asian manufacturing plants to avoid facing the higher tariffs that the 47th POTUS is about to impose.
Apple Reportedly Ships Planes of iPhones to the US
A new report from The Times of India (via 9to5Mac) shared that senior Indian officials claimed that Apple is now flying planes full of iPhones to the US as part of their efforts to escape the tariffs that are about to take effect.
Apple has already reportedly flown five planes full of iPhones and other products during the final week of March, according to the officials.
While China was where Apple had assembly plants for iPhones and other technology, the company has also expanded their operations over to India, which began with the iPhone 15 and 16 lineups.
On April 5, the first import tax took effect from the Trump administration, centering on a 10% baseline tariff for all imports. However, come April 9, the next tariffs will take effect and imports from India will be raised to 27% tariff rate, while China imports to skyrocket to 54%.
Apple is only delaying the inevitable as, while it may save the prices of its upcoming iPhone 17 series, other made-to-order products like the Mac are set to suffer from the tariffs.
Donald Trump's Proposed Tariffs for Imported Goods
Back when President Trump was fresh from winning the US elections last year, he had been hinting about the upcoming tariffs that he would impose on imported goods and services coming into the country. Because of his sentiments posted on Truth Social alone, markets saw drastic effects, including the foreign exchange where currencies weakened against the US dollar.
It was previously forecasted that Trump's proposed tariffs would significantly affect the tech and electronics industry, as well as the automotive market, which Elon Musk's Tesla is also set to face.
This decision by Trump has turned out to be an unpopular one for businesses and the public alike, as this does not only increase the manufacturing costs for companies, it increases the selling price of products as well.
