India overtakes China in U.S. smartphone exports

July 29, 2025 (MLN): India has surpassed China to become the leading exporter of smartphones to the United States, according to data from research firm Canalys.

The development highlights a significant realignment in global manufacturing supply chains, driven by ongoing tariff-related uncertainty between Washington and Beijing.

Smartphones assembled in India accounted for 44% of U.S. imports of such devices in the second quarter of 2025, a sharp rise from 13% during the same period last year, as CNBC reported.

The total volume of smartphones manufactured in India surged 240% year-on-year, Canalys reported.

In contrast, China’s share of U.S. smartphone imports dropped to 25%, down from 61% a year earlier.

Vietnam also surpassed China in this segment, with a 30% share of U.S. smartphone imports in the quarter ended June.

The dramatic rise in India’s export share was primarily driven by Apple’s accelerated shift toward manufacturing in the country.

According to Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Canalys, this marks the first time India has exported more smartphones to the U.S. than China.

Apple is reportedly ramping up its plans to produce the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. within India, aiming to manufacture around 25% of all iPhones in the country over the next few years.

The move comes amid ongoing trade tensions, including threats from former President Donald Trump, who urged Apple CEO Tim Cook to relocate iPhone production to the U.S., a move experts have warned would result in significantly higher prices.

Although many Apple products like iPhones and MacBooks have received temporary exemptions from Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs,” officials have cautioned that these reprieves might not last.

Meanwhile, Apple’s rivals Samsung Electronics and Motorola have also begun relocating U.S.-bound smartphone assembly to India, but at a slower pace and on a smaller scale, according to Canalys.

Global manufacturers have been shifting final assembly operations to India to serve the U.S. market more efficiently.

Renauld Anjoran, CEO of China-based Agilian Technology, confirmed the trend, noting that his company is currently renovating a facility in India to relocate part of its production.

Trial production runs are expected soon, with plans to scale up to full manufacturing.

While shipments, representing the number of devices sent to retailers, do not equate to final sales, they are widely viewed as a proxy for market demand.

Despite the growth in exports from India, iPhone shipments declined 11% year-on-year to 13.3 million units in the second quarter, reversing the 25% growth recorded in the previous quarter.

Shares of Apple have fallen 14% in 2025, weighed down by concerns over its exposure to tariff volatility and growing competition in smartphones and artificial intelligence.

While the company has begun assembling iPhone 16 Pro models in India, it still depends heavily on China’s mature manufacturing infrastructure to fulfill U.S. demand for premium models, according to Canalys.

In April, Trump imposed a 26% tariff on imports from India, significantly lower than the triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods at the time. Those duties were later paused until an August 1 deadline.

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