CHINA/TAIWAN: In a highly radical move to abide solely by Chinese Customs laws and regulations, Apple has instructed its Taiwanese suppliers to strictly enforce the rule that Taiwan-made parts be labelled either made in “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese, Taipei”.
Nikkei reports the reason behind this move is to evade disruption from strict Chinese Customs authorities as mainland China is currently engaged in a military brawl with Taiwan over US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taipei last week.
The tech biggie has asked the suppliers to treat the matter very seriously to avoid goods and important components being withheld by Chinese Customs, the report added.
The announcement comes before the launch of the recent iPhone 14 and other new products in September.
As per other credible sources, Nikkei also revealed that any item, document or carton bearing the tag “made in Taiwan” could result in potential delays or even possible rejections by Customs authorities, or the worst-case scenario, a hefty fine of 4,000 Yuan ($592) may be imposed.
While Beijing continues to assert its supremacy over Taiwan and conducts military exercises to bring the island nation under its submission, Taiwan with a population of around 23 million, continues to hold on to its legacy of sovereignty and democracy, refusing to merge with the mainland.
Ever since the pandemic has raged, Apple has made intense efforts to diversify its production process, relying more on Indian and Brazilian sites and minimizing reliance on Chinese factories.
However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo notes that the recent iPhone 14 production capacity in India will not be enough to compensate for the production challenges in China in the short-term, but still becomes an “important milestone for Apple” when it comes to the expansion of the iPhone production in other countries, as reported by The Guardian.
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