Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, due to the tariff wars, shipments of Apple iPhones and other mobile devices from China to the U.S. fell in April to their lowest level since 2011. Customs data showed smartphone exports to the U.S. tumbled 72 percent in April to just under $700 million, far outstripping a 21 percent drop in China’s overall exports to the U.S. during the same period of time.
In the meantime, according to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), in the first quarter of 2025, the United States imported US$42.572 million mobile phones, a year-over-year increase of 29.8 percent. Among them, 11.669 million were imported from India, a significant year-over-year increase of 181.7 percent. In the first quarter, India’s share of U.S. mobile phone imports increased to 27.4 percent from 12.6 percent in the same period last year.
Apple has been adjusting its supply chain capacity allocation based on expectations of U.S. tariffs. Apple is exporting key components from China to India and then exporting the final products to the United States after reprocessing, in order to reduce tariff losses. According to the statistics of China’s General Administration of Customs, China’s exports of mobile phone parts to India in the first quarter increased by 217.7 percent year-over-year to US$2.75 billion.
Sources:
(1) Lianhe Zaobao, May 20, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/world/story20250520-6431026
(2) CCCME, May 12, 2025
https://www.cccme.org.cn/news/details.aspx?id=06CB753EBD7ABD0B04903CE5CF03A586&classid=2ABB150247542E0E&xgid=F868932F64EB7AAF