Apple Joins Other Companies in Condemning India’s Ban on Computer Imports
iPhone maker Apple has teamed up with a group of American companies to express concern over India’s sudden restrictions on technology imports last month, arguing that the move will hurt India’s ambition to become a global manufacturing hub and negatively impact consumers, Bloomberg reported.
According to the report, at least eight American trade groups, including Apple, have written a letter to US officials asking India to consider a new policy. The policy, which is scheduled to begin on November 1, requires a license to import technology products such as laptops, tablets, servers and data center components.
India has not explained the reason for this change, but it is believed to be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to promote local production in the technology sector called “Made in India”. The policy was originally intended to take effect immediately earlier. this month, until authorities granted the companies concerned a three-month reprieve to obtain the required permit.
Meanwhile, Apple has also started manufacturing the next generation iPhone 15 in India. Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur is preparing to ship just weeks after they begin deliveries from factories in China, according to Bloomberg’s sources, as the company moves to rapidly increase the number of new iPhones coming from India.
The company is working on a multi-year project to reduce its manufacturing dependence on China. This is to make its product supply chain less vulnerable to uncertainties in the US-China trade relationship. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has sought to build closer ties with the United States and make itself a manufacturing hub, the report said.
According to Bloomberg, before the iPhone 14, the Cupertino-based tech giant manufactured only a small number of iPhones in India, which was much slower than in China. But last year, that lag improved significantly, and by the end of March, Apple was manufacturing 7 percent of iPhones in India.
