Apple is considering moving from 15 to 30% of all iPhone production from China to other countries and has asked its big suppliers to weigh the costs, says a report.
The move was caused by US-China trade tensions, Nikkei announced on Wednesday. China had said in May that it would impose a 25% tax on US goods in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s plan to raise tariffs for products imported from China.
Analysts have predicted that the cost of the iPhone will rise up to 14% as a result of the move – although Apple CEO Tim Cook in June said he “does not foresee” that this will happen.
“The Chinese have not targeted Apple and I do not expect this to happen, to be honest,” Cook said.
“I hope this will not happen … the truth is, iPhone is produced elsewhere. And so, the tariff on iPhone would harm all those states. ”
Citing “some people,” Nikkei announced on Wednesday that Apple wants to rely less on China for its phones even if another Chinese tariff does not hit.
“With or without the end of the $300 billion tariff, Apple is following the big trend [to diversify production],” a source told Nikkei.
> Read Next: The Second Season of Apex Legends Makes the Weapons More Powerful
So what do you think about this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, follow us on twitter and facebook for more news and updates.
