Apple aims to build most iPhones for US in India by end of 2026

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By the end of the year, Apple Inc. intends to buy the majority of the iPhones it sells in the US from India, accelerating a move away from China to lessen the impact of tariffs and political conflicts.

According to people with knowledge of the situation, Apple will need to almost double its iPhone production in India while not being identified when discussing domestic plans. In the US, Apple sells more than 60 million handsets annually.

The strategy is the most recent indication that Apple and its suppliers are moving quickly to India from China, a process it started when terrible Covid lockdowns severely reduced output at its largest plant. Trump’s introduction of tariffs and Beijing-Washington tensions are causing Apple to bolster that work.

Apple in India didn’t listen to a request for comment right away. Apple’s strategy for sourcing all of its US-sold smartphones from India by 2026 was previously reported by The Financial Times. Apple’s strategy to significantly prioritize handsets from the India supply chain for its US consumers was previously covered by Bloomberg News.

In India, the Cupertino, California-based business produced US$ 22 billion ( RM$ 96.35 billion ) worth of iPhones in the 12 months that ended in March, increasing production by nearly 60 % over the prior year, according to a report released this month from Bloomberg. In South Asia, Apple currently produces one in five of its iPhones, while China continues to be its biggest producer by much.

The manufacturer in southern India where Foxconn Technology Group manufactures the majority of its smartphones is located. A key supplier is also TATA Group’s devices manufacturing division, which acquired Wistron Corp.’s local business and manages Pegatron Corp.’s operations in India.

Apple exported 1.5 trillion rupees ( RM 76.68 billion or US$ 17.5 billion ) of iPhones from the region in the fiscal year through March 2025, according to the country’s technology minister on April 8.

After Trump announced his plans for the so-called “reciprocal” levies in February, iPhone sales from India to the US grew faster. Regular India output and exports increased by Apple all through the fiscal year to March.

Electronics products, including phones and computers, were exempt from the Trump administration’s mutual taxes earlier this month. Although the break doesn’t seem to expand to Trump’s separate 20 % duty on China, which was used to force Beijing to crack down on fentanyl, that’s good news for businesses like Apple.

This also means that Indian-made smartphones didn’t currently be subject to duties. Trump’s combined taxes on China continue at 145 %, excluding the exceptions made on April 11, and this will likely force businesses like Apple to shift their supply chain.

Apple then manufactures all of its iPhone models in India, including the more pricey metal Pro models. The country’s most popular nation’s manufacturing achievement is also aided by state subsidies tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to make the country a hub for manufacturing. &nbsp – Bloomberg

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What do Americans, not Trump, think about Ukraine? – Asia Times

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If there isn’t growth quickly, Donald Trump has threatened to walk away from the Ukraine peace deals. The US will no longer be involved, possibly halting arms shipments and also providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, is the inherent danger here.

According to what it is understood that the proposed strategy the Trump team has been developing has involved giving up country, including Crimea, and giving up any chance of joining NATO. Trump has recently stated that he finds Russia much easier to cope with than Ukraine, and the program favors Russia’s new demands.

Which state, in contrast, do US voters believe is closer to their country and which do they consider to be more of a ally?

Americans were questioned on March 17 about whether they believed Russia and Ukraine to be friends or foes in an Economist/YouGov surveys conducted on March 17. Russia was perceived as an enemy by 46 %, compared to 22 % who saw it as an ally. The figures for Ukraine were 26 % ally and 4 % enemy. Trump’s anti-Russia plan seems controversial given these data.

In the meantime, the US Cooperative Election Study information has just been released. A sizable number of researchers are involved in this project, who polled 60, 000 Americans at the time of the last presidential election next year. This big test provides a reliable snapshot of US public opinion.

National perceptions of alternative policies to the Ukraine conflict

American attitudes to policy alternatives for dealing with the Ukraine War
Joint Election Survey, licensed under CC BY-SA.

According to the review, the following response was included:” As you may know, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. What should the US do in response to the current situation in Ukraine? Respondents were asked to pick as many of the options as they felt would be able to, with some choosing one or two and people choosing some.

This method teaches that if someone chooses an opportunity, they may not have considered it, be oblivious to it, or don’t think it will work because they did not.

Just 5 % of Americans choose to engage in combat in Ukraine, so it is obvious from the table that they do not need their forces to do so. However, 22 % of respondents to the idea of sending military support staff, 33 % to sending military aid, and 51 % to sending humanitarian aid.

Only 23 % of respondents believed the US should not become involved, which is a crucial point. Americans don’t seem to have little enthusiasm for leaving Ukraine.

You Trump leave Ukraine?

This raises the question of whether the US can just withdraw from the conflict as the leader suggested. The Trump presidency may have to deal with these issues, though.

The US has already given Ukraine$ 66.5 billion in aid. Trump’s highly praised negotiation skills would be questioned if the country were to be abdicated, which would indicate that the country’s efforts to reach a peace deal, which had been criticized by 41 % of respondents, had been ineffective.

Republicans in the US Congress were furious with previous president Joe Biden when he withdrew US forces from Afghanistan in 2021 despite the fact that the earlier Trump administration had negotiated the withdrawal agreement.

In light of his earlier statements that he would resolve the conflict in 24 hours, his immediate departure from Ukraine could stifle yet more harsh criticism.

According to the survey’s findings, the chart above indicates that American citizens are not that reluctant to send troops overseas if they approve of the reasons for doing so. They were asked to select as many as five policy options for military deployment overseas.

Once, different respondents chose a number of different options. They are not passionate about using military power to promote democracy or guarantee that the US has a regular supply of fuel, according to the table.

National support for US military deployments worldwide

American Support for Using US Military Forces Abroad
Joint Election Study, CC BY-SA

It also reveals that 38 % support using troops to stop a genocide, and 46 % support using them to defend allies from attack, or as a member of a UN peacekeeping force.

Finally, a majority of people back the idea of destroying a criminal station, which is likely to be influenced by Barack Obama’s administration’s decision to remove Osama Bin Laden from the country in 2011.

There is no disagreement between a general eagerness to employ force in different circumstances and reluctance to do so in Ukraine. All the challenges that a conflict with Russia would necessitate for Americans fighting in Ukraine.

However, due to Trump’s second term, there was a strong desire to support Ukraine, which suggests that if he attempted to leave NATO or pushes forwards a pro-Putin agreement, a sizable portion of American voters would disagree with this and might decide to support him.

The Trump administration’s advantages of high taxes and instructions of the effects of these on the world economy have received widespread criticism. And despite what some Americans might think of as an abandonment of Ukraine, Trump hasn’t shown much sign of concern for those who work abroad.

Paul Whiteley is a professor at the University of Essex’s Department of Government.

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the text of the content.

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China, Japan, Korea sense Trump trade war weakness – Asia Times

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TOKYO – Asia is breathing somewhat easier as Donald Trump confronts the limits of his ability to self-immolate the US economy.

Amid historically free-falling markets and an Oval Office intervention by the CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot, the US president is watering down a tariff policy, including a 145% levy on China, that’s already rocked the global economy.

It’s unclear whether the climbdown, where Trump said this week he would “substantially” pare back tariffs on China in a trade deal, is real or lasting. On Thursday, he blasted China anew on social media for canceling delivery of Boeing-made jets and its role in the continued flow of fentanyl into the US.

But as Trump flinches, it’s clear his inner circle is distressed by how catastrophically the tariff policy is going down with markets. Many are coming to the conclusion that the Trump White House’s standing will never be the same on Wall Street.

Asian leaders are right to smell blood in the water. In the short run, Japan and South Korea can take a beat as Trump World tries to rally fleeing global investors back around the dollar and US Treasuries.

For one thing, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo now understand just how badly Trump needs a win, any win, on the trade front. This gives two of North Asia’s biggest economies greater leverage in talks than they had just a week ago.

For another, Xi Jinping now knows that China’s decision to push back instead of bowing to Trump’s threats and demands is paying off spectacularly. So is President Xi’s free-trade charm offensive from East to West as Trump torches friend and foe alike with arbitrary tariffs and bullying rhetoric.

Asian leaders now have scope to take a breath and regroup as Trump’s tariffs — particularly his 145% tax on China — trigger what Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives calls an “Armageddon scenario” for the US.

Recent reports of dissension in Trump’s top ranks shed light on his apparent pivot on “Liberation Day” tariffs. They include clashes between anti-China trade advisor Peter Navarro and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spilling out into the open on a near-daily basis.

Yet Trump “blinked” first in his trade war, says economist David Rosenberg, founder of Rosenberg Research. The same goes for Trump backing away from earlier threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering rates as recession risks flash red.

“The blinking that the president is busily doing on trade and Powell has unleashed a follow-through on the short-covering rally,” Rosenberg says.

Trump pivoting first contrasts markedly with what China is saying. As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun puts it: “China’s attitude towards the tariff war launched by the US is quite clear: We don’t want to fight, but we are not afraid of it. If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is wide open.”

To be sure, Beijing is reportedly considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports to limit economic fallout. Bloomberg reported today (April 25) that Beijing may remove additional levies on US-made medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, as well as waive tariffs on plane leases.

But the last month has shown what it looks like when an unstoppable force like Trump meets an immovable object like Xi’s China. But Trump just demonstrated that his pain threshold for tariffs is Wall Street-dependent.

It was headlines about the many trillions of dollars in stock losses, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon being unhappy and Goldman Sachs talking recession that had the self-proclaimed “Tariff Man” changing his tune.

The only thing falling faster than the US dollar is Trump’s economic approval rating at home. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll puts it at 37% while roughly 75% of American adults worry recession is imminent.

Confidence is likely to fall even more precipitously as American households see their retirement account statements and feel tariffs boosting prices across the board. Market volatility also forced Trump to throttle back on plans to fire Powell, at least for now.

If you’re happy “just because Trump said he isn’t going to fire Powell in an era in which the independence of central banks is going to be called into question by the demands of realpolitik, or because he said something nice about China and tariffs for the nth time as the world starts to divide along geopolitical lines, well clearly you enjoy fairy tales,” says Michael Every, global strategist at Rabobank.

At a business forum this week, veteran investment strategist Jim Paulsen said that “almost every corporate CEO is revising down their outlook. The commentary warnings of the corporate sector have escalated.”

Some titans of finance think many peers are being too dramatic about what damage Trump 2.0 might do in the long run. As C S Venkatakrishnan, CEO of Barclays, tells Bloomberg: “It’s 100 years of dollar strength, so much so that important commodities — gold, oil — are denominated in dollars. I think undoing that will take a long, long time.”

Yet Wedbush’s Ives speaks for many when he says Trump’s tariffs, and the chaos surrounding their implementation, “will go down as the worst US policy mistake” since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which amplified the Great Depression.

China’s Commerce Ministry has been making a similar point, calling the US tariff moves “a mistake on top of a mistake.”

Then, after the US president vowed to ratchet up tariffs again this week, Beijing once again vowed to hold the line.

It has since clashed with Trump by insisting no trade talks are underway, which the US leader has insisted are happening behind the scenes without naming who was involved.

At a forum in Washington sponsored by Semafor this week, Citadel CEO and founder Ken Griffin warned that a Trump reversal might be too little, too late. Before the tariffs, “no brand compared” to US Treasurys, the dollar or the creditworthiness of the biggest economy. That’s now been “eroded” in short order.

“We put that brand at risk,” the billionaire hedge fund manager said. “It can be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done.”

The financial dust cloud Trump leaves behind could play into Asia’s hands as trade negotiations are expected to heat up in coming weeks amid a 90-day pause on the imposition of his reciprocal tariffs on all global nations.  

China now knows, for example, that the bond market can rattle Trump. The recent surge in yields clearly unnerved Trump’s inner circle.

And it put on display the extent to which the US is just as vulnerable as it’s perceived to be strong. Beijing holds some US$760 billion of US Treasuries.

Chinese state media regularly discusses the idea of selling, or scaling back purchases, as a retaliation tool some market watchers believe Beijing quietly did soon after Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement.

It’s all making Trump desperate to change the narrative with a big trade deal win. The first opportunity on that front is Japan.

Of course, Team Trump is trying to put on a brave face. Asked on Wednesday whether Trump had unilaterally offered to de-escalate trade tensions with China, Treasury head Bessent claimed “not at all.”

“As I’ve said many times, I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” Bessent said.

One possible takeaway from Bessent’s comments is that they “underscored that the United States is not aiming to decouple from China,” says Thomas Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors.

Lee points to Trump’s press secretary claiming there are “ongoing trade discussions with 34 countries and referencing President Trump’s optimistic outlook regarding a potential deal with China.”

Yet the lack of progress with Japan could be a warning sign for the White House.

Last week, Navarro tried to suggest a bilateral Japan deal was imminent. It was his Exhibit A for the argument that Trump’s “90 deals in 90 days” pledge remains operational.

Yet Navarro was left holding only his ego when Tokyo reported that Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei was already back home with no deal in sight.

Seeing Trump caving this week, why wouldn’t Ishiba slow things down even further? This strategy worked well for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019. Back then, the late Abe signed a bilateral deal that Trump touted as “phenomenal.”  

But, in reality, Japan gave up less on agriculture than it had as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral free trade pact that Trump scrapped. Autos were excluded and everything from pharmaceuticals to financial services was left to a future date.

The end result was negligible in altering US-Japan trade dynamics and “was a poignant reminder of how much President Trump gave away when he turned his back on the TPP,” observed economist Matthew Goodman, who at the time was at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

It’s also a timely reminder of how far Ishiba can get with some flattery and moving slowly. Presumably, Trump’s inner circle is aware that Japan outmaneuvered Trump 1.0, just as China is so far getting the better of Trump 2.0.

But Trump World also knows the illusion of pulling off the “art of the deal” with Japan could be packaged as a badly needed trade war win.

Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), after all, faces a tough national election in July. And with approval ratings around 26%, Ishiba can hardly appear to be getting fleeced by a Trump White House with no allies among major economies.

Any perception that Ishiba gave away too much to Trump could usher his LDP out of power a few months from now. Tokyo knows, too, that if they lather Trump with concessions, he’ll likely be back for more in short order.

South Korea’s negotiations could go a similar way. At the moment, Bessent is suggesting that US-Korea talks “may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week.”

Perhaps. But just like China and Japan, South Korea has good reason to think its negotiating position is improving as Trump’s global standing and trade war credibility falls by the day.

Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek

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BMW drift driver on Phu Thab Boek to face charges

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Authorities believe that Phu Thab Boek is a foreigner.

PUBLISHED: 25 Apr 2025 at 14: 24

The white BMW Z4 is seen drifting on a curve of the road leading to Phu Thab Boek Mountain in Phetchabun province. (screenshot)
On a slope of the street leading to Phu Thab Boek Mountain in Phetchabun state, a light BMW Z4 is seen drifting. (screenshot )

Police in Phuket are looking into a suspected international national’s identity after finding out he was creating content that features his BMW’s harmful drifting along Phu Thab Boek road curves.

a movie clip posted to the lolono defendant’s TikTok account. A light BMW Z4 is seen on Re, which shows a light BMW Z4 speeding as it ascends toward Phu Thab Boek Mountain while side-driving on a street in Lom Kao area on Wednesday. A&nbsp: A person can be seen filming the image with a cellular phone for social media while standing by the wayside.

The movie generated a combined response from viewers.

On a common street, the pilot faced widespread criticism for his risky behavior. Others, however, praised the stunt, calling it images from the Fast & Furious franchise and calling the pilot the” Drift King of Phu Thab Boek.”

The video has since been removed from the bill.

Officers were informed about the event and would not ignore it, according to Lom Kao station’s general officer, Pol Col Theerasak Sarnphusitsan, on Friday. He continued,” The vehicle was allegedly a foreigner.”

Regulators called the vehicle to face charges after he had been identified by the police and security footage had been analyzed.

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China has halted rare earth exports, can Australia step up?

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six days before
James Chater

BBC News

Reporting fromSydney
Getty Images A wide shot of a Pilbara Minerals lithium facility in Port Hedland, Western Australia.Getty Images

In the midst of rising trade tensions, Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has pledged to invest A$ 1.2 billion ( £580 million ) in a strategic reserve for crucial minerals.

The news came after China imposed trade restrictions on seven rare earth elements, which are essential to the development of cutting-edge solutions like computers, fighter jets, and electric cars.

China’s restrictions apply to all nations, but they were commonly accepted as retribution for US President Donald Trump’s taxes.

Albanese stated that Australia had give priority to vitamins that are essential to both its safety and that of its companions, including rare earths. But had his strategy concern China’s dominance?

What are unique universe minerals and why are they significant?

A group of 17 components is known as “rare” when they are extremely challenging to harvest and enhance.

Rare earths, such as samarium and terbium, are crucial to the development of cutting-edge technology that will shape the world in the upcoming years, such as electric vehicles and highly developed weapons systems.

Rare planets as well as other crucial minerals, of which Australia is a leading producer, like potassium and chrome, are included in Albanese’s proposed stockpile.

Rare universe resources exist in both China and Australia. However, China has a significant amount of control over source, making 90 % of rare earth processing, which makes them useful in technology.

And European institutions have been spooked by this.

Why is China limiting the import of unusual world materials?

Beijing asserted that its restrictions on unique earths were in response to Trump’s extensive taxes, which are currently 14 % on Chinese exports to the US.

However, according to analysts, Washington’s inability to stable the supply of rare earths has grown to be one of the Trump administration’s main worries, especially as Beijing’s political tensions have gotten worse.

According to the US Geological Survey, between 2019 and 2022, about 75 % of US imports of rare earths came from China.

The US and EU “dropped the game,” according to Philip Kirchlechner, chairman of Iron Ore Research in Perth, Western Australia, as China quickly gained a monopoly over elegance.

He continued,” China has its base on the body vein of the US and European defense methods.”

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, claimed this week that China’s decision to stop exporting rare earths used in innovative magnets was having an impact on the company’s ability to create humanoid robots, an early example of the problems Beijing has the power to impose on US businesses.

Getty Images People look at a human-like Tesla robot at a technology fair in Shanghai, China.Getty Images

Was Australia’s plan alter the game?

According to Albanese’s proposal, minerals in the reserve may be accessible to both “domestic business and international partners,” with a good research to allies like the US and EU.

However, Kirchlechner continued, saying that the proposal is” never going to solve the problem,” despite praising the move as “long overdue.”

The basic problem is that China will continue to be generally in charge of the refining process of rare earths, yet if Australia stocks more crucial materials.

An excellent example of sodium is certainly a rare world, but it is a crucial metal in the production of solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles. Only a small portion of the country’s sodium is refined and exported, accounting for 33 % of it. The International Energy Agency claims that China refines 57 % of the world’s lithium while mining only 23 % of it.

As part of its Potential Made in Australia initiative, Australia has been making an investment in rare earths to use the nation’s vast mineral deposits to promote the development of a green economy.

The second mixed plant and plant for rare planets in the world was founded last year by Arafura Rare Earths, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, with funding from A$ 840 million coming in last year. Australia’s second rare earths processing facility, owned by Lynas Rare Earths, opened in Western Australia in November.

However, the nation is anticipated to rely on China for refining until at least 2026, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which has its headquarters in Washington.

Getty Images Trucks work in a vast rare-earth mine in Inner Mongolia, China.Getty Images

What did China and the US do?

China has been attempting to capitalize on Trump’s uncertainty.

China’s adviser to Canberra criticized Washington’s strategy to global trade in a number of articles in American newspapers, which Albanese swiftly rejected.

In its discussions with Trump, Australia has praised its reference sector. He imposed a 10 % tax on the importation of the majority of Australia’s items on some crucial vitamins.

However, according to analysts, Albanese’s proposal is primarily intended to shield Australia and its companions from corporate adversaries like China.

Natixis ‘ chief economist for Asia-Pacific, Alicia Garca-Herrero, told the BBC that Albanese’s plan was “more advanced” than previous ideas because it allowed for the sale of Australia’s resources in times of economic pressure.

She added that Australia might start selling more of its nutrient reserves to support lower prices on world markets and release China’s influence over setting prices.

She did point out that Australia is still unable to fully remove China.

There are areas where China could have a strong foothold, and refining is the most crucial step if Australia’s goal is to serve the West, becoming more critical to the West, particularly the US.

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GE2025: PAP’s Alex Yam says SDP chief Chee Soon Juan broke pledge to stay in Bukit Batok

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The difference between the ruling party’s Nomination Day swap of key Cabinet ministers across constituencies and Chee Soon Juan’s departure from Bukit Batok, according to People’s Action Party ( PAP ) organizing secretary Alex Yam, lies in the promise he made to voters before, Yam said.

Mr. Yam claimed on Friday ( Apr. 25 ) that the ruling party had “valid reasons” to support its decisions and that they were” not willy nilly” and that the PAP had been able to explain why they had done them.

The difference is that Dr. Chee made a common vow to stay in Bukit Batok and then made the switch-off decision days later. That is the central point, he claimed of the secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party’s ( SDP ) plan to run for the Sembawang West seat.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who leads the PAP team in Sembawang GRC, addressed Dr Chee’s determination in his rally speech the night before, calling it a” determined social shift” that was made after a generation of not being interested in the northern area.

After a Yew Tee walkabout with Lawrence Wong, the outlet secretary of the PAP’s Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC staff, on Friday night, Mr. Yam spoke to investigators.

At Yew Tee Square and Yew Tee Point stores, as well as the hard court in front of Yew Tee MRT place, the trio spent about two days shaking hands, taking pictures, and handing out flyers. Additionally, they made a trip to the nearby Sparkle Care senior care facility.

According to Mr. Yam, who has served in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC since its founding in 2015, each political party has the right to choose which candidates to use” as they deem best in the interests of voters and in the interest of the representation.”

He reiterated Mr. Wong’s earlier assertion that the new Punggol GRC needed Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong so that” the east of Singapore has a good heavyweight minister who would be able to carry the ground there.”

According to Mr. Yam, the late deployments of Mr. Gan and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng were done for the sake of democracy, not” for exigency sake,” but were purposefully planned to give voters the best chance to make a choice.

He referred to Dr. Chee’s move to a different constituency for the May 3 elections as” but here you have an individual who made a promise, who made a public pledge to do so, but who then changed his mind right away.”

In the former Bukit Batok single-seat ward in the 2020 General Election and the 2016 by-election, the SDP leader ran and lost. Prior to that, he had failed to lead the SDP team for the 2015 hustings in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

In accordance with the most recent revision of the nation’s electoral map, the Bukit Batok seat was renamed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

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