Ahead of US tariffs, Apple reportedly flew in devices to avoid additional costs
Apple's main production facility for iPhones is in China. Shortly before the US customs deadline, the company put its logistics to work.
Loading an airplane: Apple imported a lot of hardware shortly before the Trump tariffs.
(Image: Suksin / Shutterstock)
At least 85% of iPhone production is still said to take place in China. The Group is therefore massively affected by the new punitive tariffs against the People's Republic introduced by the US government under President Donald Trump this week. Imports to the USA are now set to cost up to 104 percent. Shortly before the deadline expired, Apple is said to have chartered numerous planes to import expensive devices in particular into the US. This is reported by Asian media. Shortly after the start of the tariffs, the first competitors such as Asus and HP began to stop their deliveries completely.
Fully booked freight air traffic with iPhones and Macs
One supplier, who in addition to Apple also supplies Microsoft and Google with hardware from Asia, said that customers had called him to ensure that as many products as possible were sent to the USA by air freight. However, the problem is that there are not enough components and materials, writes the Japanese business news agency Nikkei.
In addition to Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Lenovo and Samsung are also said to have previously tried to export as many units as possible. However, Apple is likely to be ahead in terms of quantities, especially with expensive iPhones and Macs. The company has long-term customer relationships with air freight carriers such as Fedex and UPS, which are already bringing new hardware to US stores "on time."". Apple was unable to obtain exemptions from the tariffs during the second Trump administration. In the first presidency, CEO Tim Cook had used his good connections in the White House to avoid the trade war with China that had already broken out at the time.
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Tariff escalation at a high level
This time, the situation escalated significantly. While the planned tariffs were initially 54% – 20% standard plus a 34% surcharge –, the US government increased them by a further 50% as China responded with its tariffs. Apple is currently trying to outsource large parts of its production to India, where there are currently "only" 26% tariffs. The standard tariff for European exports is currently 20 percent.
Customers are also reacting: before the tariffs were introduced, US citizens were buying significantly more iPhones than usual because they feared price increases. The White House announced that the USA has the resources and the workforce to manufacture the iPhone locally. The jobs should come "home", according to Donald J. Trump's government spokeswoman.
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