By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US tech giant Apple said Thursday that most of its products to be sold in the US in the coming months will come from India and Vietnam, instead of China, which has been the target of US President Donald Trump's highest tariffs.
"We do expect the majority of iPhones sold in US will have India as their country of origin," CEO Tim Cook said in a call with investors on Thursday to discuss the firm's financial performance
The primary production location "for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods product sold in the US" will be Vietnam in the meantime.
Cook noted that the great bulk of all products sold outside the US will continue to be made in China.
He also said that tariffs are estimated to increase costs by $900 million in the current quarter.
Cook also pointed to the company's plans to acquire over 19 billion chips from the US this year as part of a global supply chain transition to progressively reduce its dependency on China and improve iPhone manufacturing in India.
Chinese exporters sell mostly electronics, hardware and parts, base metals such as steel and aluminum, and manufacturing products such as textiles, plastics, clothing, toys, and furniture to the US.
On April 2, Trump announced additional tariffs on trade partners, including China, as part of “reciprocal tariffs.”
As a result of the tariff showdown that started between the two countries after China responded, the US raised the tariffs imposed on China to up to 245%, and China imposed a 125% tariff on the US.
While Washington postponed for 90 days the additional tariffs imposed on the EU and other countries – including 46% on Vietnam and 26% on India – tariffs on China came into force. Vietnam and India are both pursuing trade deals with the US to avoid the higher tariffs.
Apple was among the most impacted tech firms in the US, as its shares lost around 4.7% in a month since the announcement of the tariffs.
Most Apple products are currently produced in China due to low costs.
The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that it wants Apple to move production to the US.