Apple’s iPhone assembly partner Foxconn had seen production held up by customs issues at Indian ports, likely due to the ongoing China/India border clash. However, the company reports at least some of those issues have been resolved.
Reuters reported on Thursday that customs officials were holding back more than 250 shipments of smartphones and electronic parts sourced from China. This led to disruptions at plants operated by Apple device assembly partner Foxconn, as workers were left without anything to do.
The customs dispute has now apparently been resolved, as Foxconn has announced that all of the additional clearances that Indian customs officials have required have been addressed, and all local regulatory procedures have now been complied with.
The BBC reported on last month’s border clash which apparently led to the issues at the port.
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces in a disputed Himalayan border area, Indian officials say.
The incident follows rising tensions, and is the first deadly clash in the border area in at least 45 years. The Indian army initially said three of its soldiers had been killed, adding that both sides suffered casualties. But later on Tuesday, officials said a number of critically injured soldiers had died of their wounds.
India’s external affairs ministry accused China of breaking an agreement struck the previous week to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley.
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says violence between two armies high up in the Himalayas is very serious, and pressure will grow on the two nuclear powers not to allow a slide into full-scale conflict.
The shipping delays have caused concern that businesses that have already been impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis will be disrupted further. This has led to U.S.-India lobby groups and local industry bodies urging the Indian government to intervene. Meanwhile, Indian government officials have said the additional clearance measure for Chinese shipments would be temporary.
