Apple: Suppliers in Taiwan should declare China as country of origin

The conflict between China and Taiwan continues to escalate. In view of the small island state’s great importance for large electronics companies, this is now also affecting well-known companies. Apple now wants to draw the first consequences and ask suppliers based in Taiwan to use a different place of origin. Instead of Taiwan, China is to be used as the label.

Customs relief

Only recently we reported on the great importance of Taiwan as a manufacturer of semiconductors. This was mainly about the fact that the conflict between the island state and China could further fuel the rampant semiconductor crisis. One reason for this is certainly the strict customs controls, which have been tightened once again in the course of the dispute. According to information from Nikkei, Apple now wants to have found a solution to the problem. In order to avoid a production delay of the iPhone 14 planned for this fall, the company has unceremoniously asked its suppliers in Taiwan to change the label. Instead of stating “Taiwan” as the place of origin, “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei” is to be written on the deliveries instead. Since Apple relies on technology from both Taiwan and China to produce the iPhone, the problem with customs would hit the company particularly hard.

China has great importance for Apple

One reason for the label change is probably not only that Foxconn, probably the most important producer of iPhones, is located in China. On top of that, the most populous country in the world has also become one of Apple’s most important sales markets as a result of the growing prosperity of the population. It is possible that Apple fears that a sales or even manufacturing ban could also be imposed in China if the Taiwan crisis comes to a head. This could pull the legs out from under the company’s entire market.

After all, Apple cannot manufacture nearly as many iPhones as it needs to without its crisis-tested supply chains in the Far East. This already comes with a lot of risk due to Corona. As early as last summer, for example, Apple was desperately seeking new employees for its plants in China. It is already certain that the Taiwan crisis will have an impact on the new iPhone. After all, insiders speculate that the standard iPhone 14 model will come with the iPhone 13’s A15 processor. Only the iPhone 14 Pro will be equipped with the new A16. This can be attributed to the semiconductor crisis.