IPhone maker says it will split US and China supply chains

Key Apple Inc. partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. is planning to split its supply chain in two, with one segment serving the Chinese market and the other the US.

Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu said Wednesday his company now operates 30% of its capacity, up from 25% last June, outside China, the main base of production for gadgets from iPhones to Dell desktops and Nintendo Switches. That proportion will rise as the company — known also as Foxconn — moves more manufacturing to Southeast Asia and other regions to avoid escalating tariffs on Chinese-made goods headed to U.S. markets, Liu told reporters.

“No matter if it’s India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each,” Liu said, adding that while China will still play a key role in Foxconn’s manufacturing empire, the country’s “days as the world’s factory are done.”