The iPhone not held captive by China

Apple 王府井, Beijing. © Apple.

As the trade war between the U.S. and China heats up, Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer of the iPhone and iPad, says that whatever happens, Apple phones will remain available for the American market. While most of Foxconn’s manufacturing occurs in China, where it operates 12 factories spread across nine cities, the company also has factories in several other countries, which together account for a full quarter of its production capacity. If new, punishing tariffs on products from China were to be imposed by the American administration, Foxconn would simply shift all of its Apple production activities outside of China. However, while Apple’s supply capacity would not be impacted, the same can’t be said for its profit margins. That said, new tariffs could also be a boon for Apple, since not all Android phone manufacturers can shift production so quickly and seamlessly.

⇨ Mashable, “Foxconn can make all iPhones outside of China (if necessary).”