Taiwan aims to double chip, electronics exports to India as iPhone output grows

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Taiwan wants to double its exports of chips and electronics to India within five to seven years, a senior trade official said, as rising iPhone production boosts smartphone shipments from the South Asian nation.

India's smartphone exports to the United States, currently exempt from higher tariffs, jumped nearly 40% in the first five months of the fiscal year starting April to USD 8.43 billion, industry estimates show. Much of the growth came from Apple, which is shifting iPhone production out of China.

"Electronic industries are driving the growth of trade between our two countries," James C F Huang, chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, told Reuters at the Taiwan Expo in New Delhi. "In the next five to seven years, the trade and investment we have in India can double."

Taiwanese firms have invested about USD 5 billion in Indian manufacturing. 

Powerchip Semiconductor and Tata Electronics last year launched an USD 11 billion venture to build India's first chip plant in Gujarat under a state-backed incentive scheme. 

Apple supplier Foxconn this year pledged USD 1.5 billion to expand in India.

Apple assembled nearly 14 per cent of its iPhones in India in fiscal 2024, up from about 7 per cent the year before, according to industry data. The company is cutting reliance on China after years of rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and trade tensions.

Taiwan's exports to India reached USD 10 billion in 2024, led by semiconductors, electronic components and machinery, up from USD 4 billion five years earlier, government figures show.

Huang played down concerns that the US could extend higher tariffs to Indian goods. "I don't think it's going to affect Taiwan-India trade or investment relations," he said, citing India's domestic market and opportunities in electronics, petrochemicals and textiles.

Washington has so far kept tariff exemptions on Indian smartphone shipments despite wider protectionist moves. 

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged US tech companies not to build in India but stopped short of imposing levies, clearing the way for Apple and its suppliers to step up investments.