There has been a lot of speculation about what the ongoing trade war between the United States and China might mean for iPhones that are destined for Apple’s home country. The units are currently manufactured by Foxconn in China and if additional tariffs are imposed by the United States, that could result in iPhones getting expensive for customers in the U.S. A senior Foxconn executive has now said that the company has the capacity to move production of iPhones meant for the U.S. outside China if need be.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Foxconn’s semiconductor business group head Young Liu said that 25 percent of the company’s production capacity is outside China. “We can help Apple respond to its needs in the U.S. market,” he added.
Speaking at an investors’ conference, Liu said that the company has enough capacity to meet Apple’s demand. However, Apple hasn’t instructed Foxconn to move production out of China as yet. It may not be able to hold off on that decision if the tariffs are imposed.
The tariffs would apply to the wholesale cost of devices that are imported to the United States from China. It would then be up to Apple to decide whether it will absorb the entire cost itself or pass all or some of it off to customers. If the tariffs are completely passed on, this could result in a price increase of between nine and 16 percent for iPhones, according to market estimates.
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