Apple sends 5 planes of iPhones from India to US to avoid Trump’s tariffs: report

Apple moved five cargo planes filled with iPhones and other devices from India to the United States in just three days in a last-minute effort to avoid a 10 percent tariff imposed by President Donald Trump that took effect on April 5.

According to a report from the Times of India, Apple transported the devices during the last week in March. Sources close to the matter said Apple does not currently plan to raise retail prices in the US despite the new tariffs.

The tech company has moved inventory from manufacturing centers in India and China to mitigate the impact of the tariffs despite this time being a typically slow shipping season. By stockpiling products in US warehouses, Apple aims to maintain current pricing for the time being.

“Factories in India and China and other key locations had been shipping products to the US in anticipation of the higher tariffs,” one source told the outlet. “The reserves that arrived at lower duty will temporarily insulate the company from the higher prices that it will need to pay for new shipments under the revised tax rates.”

Apple’s US warehouses are reportedly stocked with enough inventory to last several months.

While the majority of Apple products are manufactured in India, China, and Vietnam, India may play a larger role in Apple’s future production due to it facing the lowest tariffs of the three under the Trump administration’s new trade rules. Apple is expected to continue shifting manufacturing away from China and toward India as a result.

Despite the iPhone 16 Pro Max currently costing $1,599, iPhone costs could rise to as much as $2,300 if tariff-related costs are passed on to consumers, according to Rosenblatt Securities. 

Apple isn’t alone in this effort to avoid the tariffs. Nintendo also reportedly rushed shipments to avoid paying tariffs as well. A Financial Times report said more than half of Nintendo’s US hardware comes from Vietnam and Cambodia, and the company shipped over 383,000 units of its upcoming Switch 2 console in just five days in January to “get ahead of the risk of tariffs.” Despite this, Nintendo still had to delay preorders after Trump’s announcement.