Foxconn said to shift some Apple production to Vietnam to minimise China risk
- The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly to Vietnam, as Apple diversifies production
- Foxconn’s new plant in Vietnam is expected to come online in the first half of 2021
The development comes as the outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump encourages American firms to shift manufacturing out of China. During Trump’s tenure, the US has targeted made-in-China electronics for higher import tariffs, and restricted supplies of components produced using US technology to Chinese firms it deems as a national security risk.
Taiwanese manufacturers, wary of being caught up in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some manufacturing from China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and India.
Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, is building assembly lines for Apple’s iPad tablet and MacBook laptop at its plant in Vietnam’s northeastern Bac Giang province, to come online in the first half of next year, the person said, declining to be identified as the plan was private.
The lines in Vietnam will also take some production from China, the person said, without elaborating how much production would shift.
“The move was requested by Apple,” the person said. “It wants to diversify production, following the trade war.”