Investing.com - Chinese shipments of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s flagship iPhone and other mobile devices fell in April to their lowest levels since 2011, in a potential sign of the impact of recent trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
Exports of smartphones slumped by 72% to a little under $700 million during the month, a greater drop than the 21% decline in overall Chinese goods shipped to the U.S. -- a possible indication that the threat of President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs may be weighing on supply chains.
The U.S. recently ratcheted up levies on Chinese imports to 145%, sparking retaliatory duties of 125% by Beijing and exacerbating concerns that a protracted trade war between the world’s two largest economies could drive up prices and dent growth.
These fears were somewhat soothed last week after Washington and Beijing announced a temporary trade truce that both paused and delayed the elevated tariffs. Still, hints of disagreements remain, with China saying the U.S. imperiled their crunch meeting in Switzerland earlier in May by pursuing sanctions on artificial intelligence chips produced by Huawei.
Trade between the U.S. and China amounted to $690 billion last year. Smartphones, along with lithium-ion batteries and laptops, were among some of the biggest U.S. imports from China in 2024, while the U.S. heavily exported items like liquid petroleum gas and soybeans.
Recent signals have emerged that the trade spat is leading to a diversion in global supplies. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, the value of phone components sent to India from China has nearly quadrupled over the past year.
India is Apple’s biggest base for production outside China and has seemingly increased in importance to the company since the imposition of Trump’s tariffs. In April, customs data cited by Reuters found that the tech giant’s main India suppliers shipped iPhones worth almost $2 billion to the U.S., a record high.
Apple even chartered cargo flights to bring 600 tons of iPhones into the U.S. from India to ensure it had sufficient inventory.
Last week, Trump said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he does not want the firm to build iPhones in India, saying the country can "take care of themselves".