Foxconn, Apple’s longtime partner, has been assembling Apple gadgets for years. The world’s largest manufacturer and product assembler may have been at odds with its prime client lately over slowing sales, but that doesn’t mean the two giants won’t be extending their partnership – quite the contrary. If there’s any substance to a new story published Tuesday, Apple may have found a way to reduce import taxes in mainland China by having Foxconn International provide new logistic and after-sale maintenance services to the technology giant…
Caijing, a Beijing-based national magazine, cites a source at Apple’s upper supply chain who disclosed that Foxconn International will help the iPhone maker directly sell its products from Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory to mainland China.
This wouldn’t have been possible unless Foxconn and Apple have cut some sort of an agreement with China’s customs authorities.
DigiTimes thinks this may lead to a price reduction of Apple products in mainland China:
In the past, Apple’s products had to be first shipped to Hong Kong or Shenzhen, China to complete the export procedures and then imported back before they could hit the store shelves in China.
The direct shipments will reduce import taxes, and may reduce the prices for Apple products in China, the sources said.
The two companies have apparently reached an agreement and some Apple products have already been directly sold in the mainland, the Caijing story has it.
This isn’t totally unexpected because Foxconn employed a direct shipment business model in other countries such as Indonesia and Brazil.