The race to beat Trump’s tariffs: How Apple flew cargo planes containing 600 tonnes of iPhones – up to 1.5 million units – from India to the US to avoid huge fees

Tech giant Apple chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tonnes of iPhones to the United States from India days before Donald Trump unveiled his tariff programme that threatened to ignite a global trade war.  

The details of the push provide an insight into the smartphone company’s private strategy to navigate around the Trump tariffs and build up inventory of its popular iPhones in America, one of its biggest markets.

Analysts warned that US prices of iPhones could surge, given Apple’s high reliance on imports from China, the main manufacturing hub of the devices, which is subject to Trump’s highest tariff rate of 125%.

That figure is far in excess of the tariff of 26% on imports from India, but which is now on hold after Trump called a 90-day pause this week that excludes China.

Apple ‘wanted to beat the tariff’ and organised chartered cargo flights to ship 1.5 million iPhones into America before the tariffs came into effect, one source familiar with the planning told Reuters.

Indian officials subsequently confirmed the same account to The Times of India.  

Apple reportedly lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at the Chennai airport from 30 hours down to just six to ensure the last flight left on time, the Reuters source added.

Up to six cargo jets with a capacity of 100 tonnes each have flown out since March, one of them this week just as new tariffs kicked in, the sources said.

The packaged weight of an iPhone 14 and its charging cable come to about 350 grams, Reuters measurements show, implying the total cargo of 600 tonnes comprised about 1.5 million iPhones, after accounting for some packaging weight.

Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year worldwide, with Counterpoint Research estimating a fifth of total iPhone imports to the United States now come from India, and the rest from China.

Trump consistently increased US tariffs on China, to stand at 125% by Wednesday, from 54% earlier.

At the 54% tariff rate, the $1,599 cost of the top-end iPhone 16 Pro Max in the United States would have surged to $2,300, calculations based on projections by Rosenblatt Securities show.

In India, Apple stepped up air shipments to meet its goal of a 20% increase in usual production at iPhone plants, attained by adding workers, and temporarily extending operations at the biggest Foxconn India factory to Sundays, the source added.

Two other direct sources confirmed the Foxconn plant in Chennai now runs on Sundays, which is typically a holiday. 

The plant turned out 20 million iPhones last year, including the latest iPhone 15 and 16 models.

As Apple diversifies its manufacturing beyond China, it has positioned India for a critical role. 

Foxconn and Tata, its two main suppliers there, have three factories in all, with two more being built.

Apple spent about eight months to plan and set up the expedited customs clearance in Chennai, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government asked officials to support Apple, one senior Indian official said.

Foxconn shipments from India to the United States surged in value to $770 million in January and $643 million in February, compared to the range of $110 million to $331 million in the prior four months, commercially available customs data shows.

More than 85% of the January and February air shipments of Foxconn were offloaded in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

Apple and India’s aviation ministry did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. All the sources sought anonymity as the strategy and discussions were private. 

While Apple continues efforts to insulate itself from the impact of tariffs, China warned that Trump’s levies ‘go against the whole world’.

The US President said yesterday he was raising levies on China to 125% as he put a 90-day pause on tariffs for other countries he said appeared willing to negotiate – though a 10% universal levy on almost all products remains in place.

Tariffs ‘seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system, and seriously impact the stability of the global economic order’, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian urged, framing the duties as a ‘threat’ to ‘coerce’ others into concessions.

‘This is a blatant act that goes against the will of the world and goes against the whole world.’

The stark assessment came as China’s commerce ministry reiterated its vow to ‘fight to the end’ if Trump continues to insist upon harsh tariffs on foreign imports.

He Yongqian, spokesperson for the commerce ministry, told reporters today that pressure, threats and blackmail were not the right approach to dealing with China.

She lamented the ‘imposition of indiscriminate tariffs’ on trading partners including China which, she echoed, ‘seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and severely impact the stability of the global economic order.’

‘The door to dialogue is open, but it must be based on mutual respect and conducted in an equal manner.’