
Apple powers India to become biggest smartphone exporter to US
The total volume of 'Made-in-India' smartphones grew 240 per cent year on year, and now accounts for 44 per cent of smartphones imported into the US, up from only 13 per cent of smartphone shipments in Q2 2024, according to resecrh firm Canalys (now part of Omdia).
'India became the leading manufacturing hub for smartphones sold in the US for the very first time in Q2 2025, largely driven by Apple's accelerated supply chain shift to India amid an uncertain trade landscape between the US and China,' said Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Canalys.Apple has scaled up its production capacity in India over the last several years as a part of its 'China Plus One' strategy and has opted to dedicate most of its export capacity in India to supply the US market so far in 2025.
'Apple has begun manufacturing and assembling Pro models of the iPhone 16 series in India, but is still dependent on established manufacturing bases in China for the scaled supply needed for Pro models in the US,' said Chaurasia.
Samsung and Motorola have also increased their share of US-targeted supply from India, although their shifts are significantly slower and smaller in scale than Apple's. Motorola, similar to Apple, has its core manufacturing hub in China, whereas Samsung relies mainly upon producing its smartphones in Vietnam.The United States smartphone shipments grew by 1 per cent in Q2 2025 as vendors continued to frontload device inventories amid tariff concerns. The uncertain outcome of negotiations with China has accelerated supply chain reorientation.
Apple built up its inventories rapidly toward the end of Q1 and sought to maintain this level in Q2.

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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
US, China and Russia: Navigating the superpower trilemma
Today, Indian foreign policy discourse is mired in an important debate. Two key assumptions govern this debate: that New Delhi's ties with the US arguably constitute its most important relationship in the 21st century, and that any negotiations with Beijing are a signal of weakness. India-US relations are undergoing a tense phase. The tensions have primarily been instigated by US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on India, and an additional, 'unspecified penalty' for continuing to buy energy resources from Russia. His social media comments have gone so far as to refer to both India and Russia as 'dead economies.' Naturally, this has called into question the time-tested nature of the partnership in the face of the 'China challenge'. With the US-China equation changing, India has to balance ties with both as well as work towards its own national interests Speaking of China, after a long period of severed dialogue, postures on both sides have slightly relaxed, though the road to stability vis-à-vis the border issue, or even China's backing of Pakistan, is long and winding. Nonetheless, communication and negotiation between the two neighbours is underway, and is perhaps a welcome break from the silent-but-violent treatment. Besides the volatility in New Delhi's ties with the two superpowers, there exists a bilateral dynamic between the US and China, which vitally impacts India. An intense back-and-forth of escalating tariffs ensued between the two economic giants earlier this year. Yet, Trump's recent statements seem to suggest that a trade deal with Beijing is in the works. So how does that affect India? So far, India has believed that Trump's continued dissatisfaction with Beijing will be a core aspect of mutual convergence between itself and the US. This definitely was the case under the Joe Biden administration. But if anything is certain about Trump, it is that nothing, indeed, is certain. So, the US and China may not be entering a friendly phase, but they sure are inching toward some semblance of stability. The dynamics of this fateful triangle require that India think in its national interests— sustained economic growth and security of its territory from both external and internal threats. And as PM Modi himself remarked in an interview in 2023, '[The] foremost guiding principle in foreign affairs is our country's national interest.' This begs the question: How should New Delhi balance the nuances of its ties with the US and China and the repercussions of their own thaw, while working to achieve its national interests? One way is not to believe that negotiations with China signal weakness. This anxiety is likely to play up as New Delhi and Beijing negotiate. Most recently, India has eased tourism rules, while China has opened up access for Indians to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. To a great degree, India's geographical, economic and military constraints require that communication with Beijing continue for sustainable security to be achieved. This is not to say that India should give up its confident posture, or discontinue investments in de-risking or border security. It is also not a call for it to shed its affinity for the US. But the steps toward a thaw with Beijing — high-level political conversations, ministerial-level dialogues, and working mechanism consultations on the border — are necessary. And at a time when Trump seems to be prepared to meet the 'China challenge' alone, India must figure its own way out to do the same. Second, is to evaluate costs when it comes to fulfilling its energy requirements through purchases from Russia. The affordability of such purchases, and the historic nature of ties with Moscow (especially in defence), make it a vital partner to New Delhi. However, Trump is prioritising reciprocal access to the Indian market over having a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific. And in a world where the US is vastly more powerful than India — or in most aspects, even China — much of what Trump says, goes. So the question is, where is the common ground between India not shedding its friendship with Russia, not risking insurmountable tariffs from the US, and not enabling China's unchecked regional power? The intertwined interests of economic growth and stable security seem orthogonal in this situation. But it is important to face facts. If it wasn't buying oil from Russia, India would still get the tariff slap. If there was great openness in the Indian dairy and agricultural markets, which Trump consistently demands, there would still be an 'unspecified penalty' for trading with Russia. So, the acknowledgement that there is no absolute win-win, is essential. It boils down to assessing what is more harmful — not making any adjustments to the trade numbers with Russia, or the US. It is also important to acknowledge the trade-offs — if there is a significant reduction in the imports of oil and/or defence equipment from Russia, and the US becomes the preferred alternative source of imports, Moscow may become unabashed in its support for China in its disputes with India. If trade with Russia continues as is, India shall face agonistic tariffs under Donald Trump and an overall lack of support in regional geopolitics. It is indeed true that India's tariffs continue to remain high, market openness is low, and domestic innovation and production capability face challenges. Hence, is the first step to addressing the above mentioned dilemma to take difficult steps towards phased openness? Most likely. It may assuage Trump's concerns about the US's trade deficit, without creating many troubles in India-Russia relations. Finally, the worrisome trend of self-reliance across the globe is leaving fewer alternatives for India to replace its dependencies on the US, China, or Russia. Where it gets affordable imports, it faces controversial dilemmas. Where it sees a strong partner, it faces chiding and deriding. So, moving forward, even as the willingness to negotiate diplomatically must continue, India must invest in its own trajectory toward economic and military modernisation. Illustration credit: Illustration by Chad Crowe (USA) Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.


The Print
8 hours ago
- The Print
No duty concessions to US on agri, dairy, GM foods: An explainer
Earlier, this duty was to be imposed from August 1. The President has also not specified the penalty which he has announced on India for buying crude oil and military equipment from Russia. With the US not able to finalise a deal with India so far, US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced imposition of an additional 25 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering American markets from August 7. New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) India has toughened its stance on extending duty concessions on agri products, dairy and GM foods in the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US. Here is a list of Q&A (questions and answers) to explain reasons behind India's stand and impact of US tariffs on labour-intensive sectors: * What is the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA)? – India and the US entered into negotiations for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial BTA in March 2025 with a target to complete the first tranche/phase of the pact by fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of talks have been completed. For the next round, the US team, headed by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, is visiting India from August 25. * What is the aim of the BTA? – Normally in a trade agreement, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and increase two-way investments. The India-US BTA is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the present USD 191 billion. *What are the major demands of the two countries from each other in the BTA? – The US wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically-modified crops. India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff (25 per cent now) and cut in tariffs on steel and aluminium (50 per cent), auto sector (25 per cent), labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. *How much tariff is imposed by the US on Indian goods at present? – India's average import duty is about 17 per cent, while the US' is 3.3 per cent. On April 2, the US announced to impose 26 per cent duty (16 per cent reciprocal tariff and 10 per cent baseline tariff). At present, only the baseline tariff is in force. It is over and above the existing import duty on Indian goods. For example, before April 2, the Indian textiles were attracting a 6-9 per cent tariff in America. With the baseline tariff, it rose to 16-19 per cent. But from August 7, the sector will attract a 31-34 per cent duty. The baseline tariff will be replaced by 25 per cent duty notified on July 31 by the White House. However, certain products are exempted from these tariffs such as pharmaceutical, electronics and energy products. * From when the 25 per cent duty will come into force? – The duty, announced this week, will come into force from August 7 (9.30 am IST). The executive order has also clarified that goods in transit until October 5, 12:01 am eastern daylight time (EDT), or 09:30 am IST, will be subject to a 10 per cent tariff, provided that such goods have entered into transit before August 7 12:01 am EDT. *Why India is not ready to provide duty concessions on dairy, agri and GM foods? – Agri: Farm livelihoods are at stake. This is a politically and economically sensitive area as over 700 million people in India's rural economy are dependent on the sector. If India removes tariffs, cheap, subsidised US grains could flood Indian markets during global price crashes. Unlike the US, where agriculture is corporatised, Indian farming is a livelihood issue. Tariffs are essential to protect small farmers, manage price volatility, and ensure food security. Dairy: India wants to safeguard its small farmers. GTRI stated that the US argues that India's GM-free feed certification and facility registration protocols effectively bar American dairy imports. 'Indian rules prohibit imports from animals fed with animal-derived feed'for example, butter from a cow fed meat'due to religious sensitivities. India considers this policy non-negotiable,' GTRI has said. GM Food: These are created by inserting specific genes, often from bacteria, viruses, other plants, or occasionally animals, into a plant's DNA to introduce new traits, such as pest resistance or herbicide tolerance. Allowing the import of GM products such as soybean meal and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for animal feed would affect India's agricultural exports to the EU, a key destination for Indian exporters. PTI RR ANU ANU This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.


Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Most iPhones sold in US made in India, says Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed on Thursday that 'majority' of iPhones sold in the US in the past quarter were made in India despite US President Donald Trump's regular rants about it. Meanwhile China, erstwhile production giant, is playing second fiddle and is used more to service non-US markets. Cook, speaking to analysts after quarterly results, said that India has been the mainstay when it comes to producing iPhones for the US, while Vietnam is the location for making other products for America such as MacBook, iPad and Watch. 'In terms of the country of origin, it's the same as I referenced last quarter. There hasn't been a change to that, which is, vast majority of iPhones sold in the US, or the majority, I should say, have a country of origin of India,' the Apple CEO said. On China, Cook said, '… the products for other international countries, vast majority of them are coming from China.' While the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on India, smartphones, computers, and other electronic devices are exempted from the reciprocal tariffs for now. Trump has been pushing Apple and Cook not to make the iPhones in India for meeting needs of US consumers. 'I had a little problem with Tim Cook… I said to him, my friend, I am treating you very good… but now I hear you are building all over India. I don't want you building in India,' he said during his visit to Doha in May. Cook's clear stance on India manufacturing, is being seen as a signal that Apple stays bullish on India, especially as the country is also consistent in showing strong growth in local sales. Cook said revenues in India are witnessing record growth, led by growth in sales of iPhones. India is among the high-growth markets for Apple, which recorded 10% growth globally in quarterly revenues, closing the quarter at $94 billion. 'We saw an acceleration of growth around the world in a vast majority of markets we track, including greater China and many emerging markets, and we had the June quarter revenue records in more than two dozen countries and regions, including the US, Canada, Latin America, Western Europe, the Middle East, India, and South Asia. These results were driven by double-digit growth across iPhone, Mac, and services.' The Apple CEO also said the company is in the process of expanding its retail presence in India by opening more stores. On sales, India was again amongst the high-growth countries.