Apple has airlifted 600 tons of IPhones into the US to avoid extra costs as a result of President Trump’s new tariffs.
Since March, Apple has expedited the shipment of 1.5 million IPhones into the US from its production facility in India.
The Verge reports that Apple lobbied US officials to gain faster clearance into the US and also kept its Indian production facility open on Sundays, increasing production levels by 20%.
Other tech giants like Dell, Lonovo and Microsoft have also been scrambling to get as many of their devices into the US before the new “reciprocal” tariffs come into effect. An executive at a supplier for Apple, Microsoft and Google said they had received urgent requests to ship as many consumer electronics to the US as possible.
Some companies are also shifting their supply chains closer to the US. HP, for example, is already exploring options to increase production in Mexico.
President Trump made the imposition of tariffs a certain plank of his economic policy during the election. Since his inauguration in January, he has levied special tariffs on Mexico and Canada for their role in the US fentanyl and immigration crises, and in recent weeks he announced a new round of “reciprocal” tariffs on many of the US’s larger and smaller trading partners.
On Wednesday, President Trump raised his tariff against China to 125%, while pausing his increased reciprocal tariffs against other countries for 90 days.
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
As many as 75 nations have already expressed a desire to renegotiate trade terms with the US.