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Trump Expected To Prove Barrier For Chinese Smartphone Vendors

One of the biggest trends in the smartphone market over the last two years has been the rising prominence of Chinese players on the global stage.

However, Canalys Research analysts say that the Trump administration could prove a major obstacle for Chinese vendors looking to grow their US presence.

They say “Smartphone shipments in China grew by over 14% year on year. It remains far and away the largest market, accounting for over 30% of the worldwide market in Q4 2016. Huawei, Oppo and Vivo are increasingly making their presence felt internationally, with their combined global market share reaching 24%, up from 16% in the same quarter a year ago.”

According to them, “President Trump’s tough talk on trade with China, including the threat of harsh tariffs, paints a bleak picture for Chinese vendors looking to the US for growth. It also raises questions for the future of Lenovo and ZTE, which have seen their share of the US market grow to around 10%.”

During his campaign, the U.S. Presidential-Elect called for a 45% tariff on goods coming into the US from China.

Shortly after his election, reports began to circulate that Trump was looking to strong-arm Apple into building “their damn computers and things in this country instead of other countries.”

Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook has previously said that America simply did not have enough skilled workers for the production of iPhones.

The move comes amid intense (but not unexpected) controversy around the actions and statements of the new White House administration and an unexpectedly strong earnings result from Apple.

Canalys also offered a snapshot of the smartphone industry’s holiday period results, claiming Apple managed to ship 78 million iPhones over the Christmas period while Samsung trailing behind with 77 million devices.

They say, at third place, “Huawei grew 39% to reach 45 million units, exceeding a 10% market share for the first time this quarter. Oppo and Vivo rounded out the top five, as BBK Electronics’ top brands maintained their pressure on the leading trio. Oppo shipped 29 million units, up 70%, while Vivo grew 96% to ship 22 million units.”

“Samsung’s problems with the Note7 contributed to its worldwide market share falling below 20% in Q4, its lowest point since Q2 2011,” said Ben Stanton, Canalys Analyst.

“This played into the hands of Apple, which saw seasonal shipments of the iPhone 7 reach 78 million units, taking it into first place, a position it has not held since Q4 2014 and the launch of the iPhone 6.”



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