The latest announcement by the US President Donald Trump, exempting reciprocal tariffs on smartphones, laptop computers, hard drives, computer processors and memory chips, has given respite to electronics manufacturers in India, especially Apple and Samsung.
According to the electronics industry in India, it is a big respite for the smartphone makers and they expected there would be no extraordinary disruption.
“Time has come to set up capacities. However, long-term trend against China will remain robust. Having said that the incredible shock of the last few weeks is in itself a tectonic event and the realignments are bound to happen without too much blood split in our category,” Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), said.
ICEA represents electronics companies in India including Apple, Samsung, HP, Dell, Asus, etc.
Analysts tracking the developments said that President Trump had to exempt these items from the list of reciprocal tariffs because these electronics products are generally not made in the US and setting up manufacturing would take years for them.
“The US tariff exclusions provide much-needed relief for the global technology sector, easing pressure across consumer electronics, semiconductors, and hardware. The move offers meaningful reprieve to tech majors—especially Apple, which was caught in the crossfire—as well as the broader chip and hardware industries,” Prabhu Ram, Head - Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research (CMR), said.
According to India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), India must seize this strategic pause as an opportunity to entrench its role as a reliable and competitive global electronics manufacturing hub.
Underlying tensions
“Continued underlying tensions and uncertainties may prompt global players to diversify their manufacturing base—creating a timely opportunity for India to emerge as a preferred alternative. Despite the dampening of near-term export euphoria, the long-term opportunity for India remains robust,” Ashok Chandak, President, IESA, said.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology had recently announced that mobile phone exports from India have crossed an all-time high of ₹2-lakh crore in financial year 2024-25 (FY25) marking a 55 per cent growth over the ₹1.29-lakh crore recorded in FY24. And, iPhone shipments alone contributed about ₹1.5-lakh crore, out of the total value of exports in FY25.
The phenomenal surge in exports is driven primarily by the strategic implementation of the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, which has transformed India into one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile manufacturing hubs.
“The export momentum is led by global companies such as Apple and Samsung, which have scaled their manufacturing operations significantly in India. As a result, India’s mobile phone production is estimated to have reached ₹5,25,000 crore in FY25, up significantly from ₹4,22,000 crore in the previous fiscal year,” ICEA said.