Apple’s iPhone exports from India dodge President Trump’s 25% tariffs for now

Apple’s iPhone exports from India to America are currently unaffected by President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on the South Asian country. In April, the Trump administration excluded smartphones, computers, and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, providing significant relief to companies like Apple and Nvidia Corp., as most of these devices are not manufactured in America.
Sankalp Phartiyal for Bloomberg News:
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India currently accounts for more than a fifth of global iPhone production and has already surpassed China to become the top supplier of the device to the US market.
Apple has ramped up production in India over the past four years as it tries to diversify away from China in the aftermath of harsh coronavirus restrictions. The US tech giant’s expansion has become the poster child for Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ drive — the government has constantly used Apple’s growing manufacturing in the country as an example to woo global investors including Tesla Inc. and chipmakers such as Micron Technology Inc.
The US Commerce Department is currently probing sectors deemed vital to national security, such as semiconductors, under Section 232 in the Trade Expansion Act. Till those are complete, there will be no levies on smartphone exports to the US. That includes iPhones made in India.
The probes though, are widely expected to result in levies on a range of foreign-made products. Trump is already using that authority to tax imports of steel and aluminum.
Trump could also use 232 powers to levy duties on imports of iPhones into the US. That could drive Apple to squeeze suppliers, including those in India, and potentially force the tech giant to make iPhones pricey for US customers.

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MacDailyNews Take: 25% on Indian imports to America is a bargaining chip, not an eternal tariff.
Negotiations with India continue. President Trump has frequently used tariffs as a negotiating tool to pressure trading partners into making concessions. Based on history, the 25% tariff on India is quite likely intended to push the Indian government to reduce its own tariffs and trade barriers, which are among the highest in the world for certain goods, along with pushing India to reduce its economic and military ties with Russia, particularly in the context of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly criticized India for being one of Russia’s largest buyers of energy, alongside China, at a time when he and Western allies want Russia to face economic isolation due to its actions in Ukraine. India’s reliance on Russian crude oil has grown significantly, reportedly rising from less than 2% of its total imports before the Ukraine conflict to over 40% by June 2024. Trump’s moves, including threats of secondary tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil, are clear messages to India to curtail these purchases in order to weaken Russia’s economy and war effort, bringing about an end to hostilities in Ukraine.
Trump has also highlighted India’s long-standing practice of buying a “vast majority” of its military equipment from Russia. Trump wants India to shift its defense procurement away from Russia and toward U.S. or American-allied Western suppliers, aligning with broader U.S. strategic goals of countering Russian influence.
President Trump has linked India’s trade with Russia to enabling “the killing in Ukraine,” suggesting he wants India to adopt a more overtly anti-Russia position, including supporting Western efforts to pressure Moscow into a ceasefire.
India would be wise to reduce its trade barriers with the U.S. while also reducing its energy and military equipment purchases from Russia.
Additionally, President Donald Trump just announced a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil, effective August 1, 2025, as a response to Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro and other concerns, such as alleged unfair trade practices. However, in April 2025, the Trump administration explicitly exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, providing relief to companies like Apple. Therefore, smartphones, including iPhones, are not subject to the 50% tariffs imposed on Brazilian imports at this time.

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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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