Since the escalation of the US-China trade war last year, Apple has been working hard to reduce its dependence on Chinese-made products. As a result, iPhone contract manufacturers have now moved mass production to other countries such as India.
Now, according to the latest report, after receiving Apple’s request, Foxconn is transferring the assembly of certain iPads and MacBooks from China to Vietnam. People believe that this is because Apple wants to reduce the impact of the Sino-US trade war.
Under the auspices of President Donald Trump, the United States targeted Chinese companies by imposing several trade restrictions and banning some of them by classifying them as national security risks.
As a result, Taiwanese manufacturers began to transfer part of their production from China to other countries such as India, Vietnam, and Mexico, because they expected similar actions on their production lines.
With the latest development, Foxconn is currently building an assembly line for iPad and MacBook devices in its Vietnam plan in Bac Giang province, Vietnam. It is expected to be ready in the first half of 2021.
It is not clear how many products will be transferred from China, but people familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Apple requested the move because the company wanted to diversify its production.
Since all iPad models are currently produced in China, this will mark the first transfer of iPad production to Vietnam. Recently, Foxconn announced an investment of US$270 million to establish a new subsidiary called FuKang Technology Co Ltd, which may support Vietnam’s expansion.
According to reports, the Vietnamese factory will also produce TVs for Sony.
