Indian and Vietnamese incentives to attract electronic manufacturing have driven large-scale investments by major MNCs that in turn played a crucial role in driving manufacturing relocation. Vietnam and India’s mobile phone assembly boom, a key driver of that diversification, seems poised to continue. This will provide a solid foundation to kick off laptop production capacity going forward. India has also received massive investments in its semiconductor business from American companies such as Micron Technology.
India, which offers a cash incentive of 4-6% of incremental sales to smartphone manufacturers, has seen an impressive 100-fold increase in smartphone exports the past six years, from $137 million in 2017 to over $14 billion in 2023.
According to the findings of a supply chain research report some production has relocated outside China since the start of the U.S.-China trade war in 2017, but at varying scale and speed depending on the sector. Apparel and electronics have seen more movement out of China than automotives and solar. Much of that relocation has benefited emerging markets (EMs)—first and foremost in Asia. Ultimately, the most important driver of change in global supply chains will be the gap between China tariffs and tariffs on the rest of the world.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
