The US-China trade war is escalating. In the first two rounds of tariffs, the US has imposed duties on a total of US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods, including semiconductor ICs, car parts, machinery, and equipment. The third round of tariffs has brought the total value to US$250 billion. However, Trump has no intention to back down as he has threatened to impose tariffs totaling $500 billion on 90% of Chinese imported goods. Smartphones are likely to be on the list. As Apple has heavily relied on Taiwanese manufacturers for its iPhones, the new tariffs are likely to have a major impact on Apple iPhone's supply chain. This report starts from the background of the incident, examines the impact from the market and supply chain perspectives, and gives a brief analysis of countermeasures of iPhone partners in short and mid-to-long terms.
Table of Contents
1.Background
1.1 iPhone Likely to Become a Bargaining Chip in US-China Trade War
2.Impact Analysis3
2.1 iPhone Accounts for over 42% of the Smartphone Imports in the United States
2.2 Impact on Supply Chain
3.Countermeasures
3.1Short-term Strategy: Adjust Existing Capacity to Increase Production in Taiwan
3.2 Mid-to Long-Term Strategy: Increase Production Share in South/Southeast Asia
4.MIC Perspectives
Appendix
Glossary of Terms
List of Companies
List of Tables
Table 1 Tariffs and Prices of iPhone X in Different Countries
Table 2 Impact of US-China Trade War on Apple’s Taiwanese Partners
Table 3 Analysis of EMS Providers’ Production Sites
List of Topics:-
Background and current development of the US-China trade Impact analysis of the US-China trade war when it spills over to smartphones from the industry, market, and supply chain perspectives Short, mid- and long-term strategies to mitigate the possible impact of the US-China trade war
