NEW DELHI:

Tech giant Apple chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tonnes of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the United States from India, after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat President Donald Trump’s tariffs, sources told Reuters.

The details of the push provide an insight into the US smartphone company’s private strategy to navigate around the Trump tariffs and build up inventory of its popular iPhones in the United States, one of its biggest markets.

Analysts have warned that US prices of iPhones could surge, given Apple’s high reliance on imports from China, which is subject to Trump’s highest tariff rate of 125%. In comparison, India’s tariff rate is 26%, which is now on hold after Trump called a 90-day pause this week that excludes China. Apple “wanted to beat the tariff,” said one of the sources familiar with the planning. Two other sources confirmed the Foxconn plant in Chennai now runs on Sundays, which is typically a holiday. The plant turned out 20 million iPhones last year.