In the June quarter, India emerged as the largest exporter of smartphones to the US, accounting for 44% of total imports in the segment, edging out both China and Vietnam.
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Future
While the outcome of the Section 232 investigation could alter the tariff landscape down the line, for now, Indian electronics manufacturers remain insulated, and are likely to benefit in the near term. Industry analysts tracking trade policy said that any reversal would take time to implement, and would likely come with carve-outs for segments that are already tightly woven into US corporate supply chains.
According to analysts, India remains too cost-competitive for the US to ignore. Assembling an iPhone in India costs around $30 per unit. Add a 25% tariff, and the cost to land it in the US rises to $37.5, still far below the $390 it would cost to manufacture the same unit in the US, mainly due to labour costs being over 12 times higher.