China import delays may put Apple's India plans in jeopardy

Mobile device companies — which also include vendors of Apple Inc who assemble iPhones, among others — are facing a major concern from China.

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

The growing delay in permission to import crucial machinery from China to make iPhones and for the upcoming new model could adversely impact not only the launch of the iPhone 17 but also their possible plan to double production of phones from the country, to meet the entire US demand for iPhones and overcome the high import duties imposed on China by the US.

Similar delays in providing clearance for imports are also reflected in other areas, including tunnel drilling machines, as the government works aggressively on new tunnel construction, and machines used for solar energy, apart from electronics.