Apple is moving decisively to sidestep high tariffs on Chinese-manufactured goods and minimise the impact of US protectionist policies targeting imported semiconductors.

Products assembled in India are subject to a 26% tariff, compared to more than 50% for products shipped from China. As a result, Apple has rapidly scaled up exports from its Indian plants, airlifting several planeloads of iPhones to the U.S. in recent weeks.

This shift is part of Apple’s broader strategy to diversify its manufacturing base beyond China and reduce exposure to supply chain bottlenecks. India is increasingly positioning itself as Apple’s secondary global assembly hub, with Foxconn and Pegatron both ramping up operations in the region.

For Apple, India is the new China

Apple is expected to avoid the new US chip tariffs thanks to its recently announced US$100 billion (A$153 billion) domestic investment plan, which includes advanced packaging and design facilities.

But as always, even the best-laid supply chain plans can be disrupted by geopolitical friction and unpredictable political leaders.

Trump has announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on all semiconductors imported from countries that have not committed to building chip fabrication facilities within the US.

Companies investing in US manufacturing, such as Intel, Samsung, and TSMC, will be exempted. Yet even with many tech companies now attempting to set up shop within America’s tariff walls, Trump’s tariffs are likely to push up the price of everything from cars to consumer electronics.

While Trump’s ongoing efforts to reshore manufacturing still face hurdles, he appears strongly committed to localising critical technology supply chains as the globalisation of recent decades is increasingly reversed.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos at the start of the year, Trump warned, “My message to every business in the world is very simple: Come make your product in America, and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth. But if you don’t make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply, you will have to pay a tariff.”