With the customs tasks of Donald Trump, supply chains are experiencing their first disorders. India can testify this: the country has become the second trimester for the second time, the first smartphone exporter to the United States, dethroning China, according to the Canalys cabinet cited by CNBC.
Between April and June, smartphones gathered in India have represented 44% of American telephone imports, a jump of more than 30 points compared to the same period last year (13%). The total volume of smartphones manufactured in India has also exploded in 240%.
On the contrary, China only represents 25% of the imports of American smartphones, compared to 61% of the previous year. A fall that reduces it in third place behind India, but also Vietnam (30%).
Apple Focus in India
If Donald Trump’s customs duties reduced the supply chains of smartphones for the United States so quickly, essentially due to Apple. Faced with surcharge threats repeated by the White House tenant against Beijing (even with the aim of a price of 30% after 145%), Cupertino’s firm had planned to strengthen its assembly lines in India, to the detriment of China, where the group produces most of its smartphones, particularly through its Foxconn subcontract.
This will to Apple to transfer its assembly lines to India has caused Donald Trump’s anger: “We are not interested in building it in India. India can take care of itself, he is going very well,” he continued. “We want you to build here (in the United States, note),” he said in May.
A few days later, the US president threatened Apple with 25% of customs duties, after having exempted computers and smartphones of the surcharge: “I informed Tim Cook from Apple a long time ago, who expected the iPhone to be sold in the United States, and not in India or other places. If not, Apple will have to pay at least 25% of the United States,” he warned.
India threatened with customs duties of 26%
However, relocating production in the United States would cost Apple a lot. According to Bank of America, this could increase the price of the iPhone more than 90%, under certain conditions.
For its part, India is currently led by a threat of customs duties of 26% that could go into force on August 1. But the country has been arguing for Snorkel weeks with the Trump administration to try to obtain an agreement that includes lower surcharges before this deadline. It may not be necessary: the US president said on Monday that, instead of commercial agreements, he was considering a “customs rate for the majority of the world”, between 15% and 20%.
Source: BFM TV
