Trump’s terror of tariffs has the global tech giants worried, with many scurrying for safe harbor. Two weeks ago, Apple flew a batch of iPhones, estimated at 600 tons, in five planes from India, amid the escalating tariff war with China. Buzz on the street is that Google is considering the production of its Pixel flagship in India by shifting its base from Vietnam. The Southeast Asian country is also one of the major production hubs for smartphone giant Samsung. The company is also mulling over shifting production to India from Vietnam.
With exports worth $52 billion in FY 24, Vietnam serves as a key manufacturing hub for Samsung. That’s 9% of the country’s total trade for the fiscal year.
Per sources as published in the Business Standard, not just Samsung but several other companies with a base in Vietnam. Most companies are trying to use the three-month tariff pause to diversify their operations by shifting their base to lower-tariff nations. India has been slapped with a 26% reciprocal tariff, while padosi China faces a whopping 245%! Vietnam, on the other hand, suffers a 46% tariff, giving a huge blow to the local economy.
Amid production shifting base from the country, factory workers in Vietnam are paranoid over their grim future.
Amid sweeping retaliatory tariffs imposed by the US on Vietnam, South Korean tech major @Samsung is reportedly considering shifting some of its smartphone and electronics manufacturing to India. ⚡
The tech major has already begun talks with Indian electronics manufacturing… pic.twitter.com/65cPLa5YD9
— Inc42 (@Inc42) April 24, 2025
Workers, including Samsung factory workers, in Vietnam expressed concerns about job security after US President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on dozens of countries took effect, escalating the global trade war pic.twitter.com/kqUDH55ZFc
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 9, 2025
See Also: Google Considers India For Pixel Manufacturing To Dodge US Tariffs On Vietnam
See Also: Apple Sent Five Planes Loaded With iPhones To US From India; Internet Jibes Electronic Trafficking Is The Future’
Cover: Patrick Gawande / Mashable India