Tech giant Apple is watching Mexico and other Southeast Asian countries to move up to 30% of its production from China amid the trade war between Washington and Beijing, the Nikkei Asian Review newspaper said.
Anonymous sources told the medium that the Californian company asked its large suppliers to assess the costs and implications of shifting production capacity from 15 to 30%.
Read: Why Apple Is Thinking of Lowering iPhone Prices
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Apple approached this initiative because of the tariffs ordered by President Donald Trump on goods valued at more than $250 billion, which could rise to $500 billion.
However, even if an agreement is reached, the company would continue with this initiative because of the risks of relying on so much percentage of production in China.
Countries considered for this diversification include Mexico, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, but the favorites for cell phone production are India and Vietnam.
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Sources said the means of changing the place of production would take time, so there is no estimated date, and it is likely that China will remain the most important manufacturing base for the company.
Information from the company cited by the Nikkei Asian Review notes that some 5 million Chinese jobs depend on Apple’s presence in the country and that 10,000 people work directly for Apple.
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