India Eats Into China, Vietnam's Smartphone Imports To US

India's competitiveness in smartphone exports to the USA has seen a rise, with market share increasing at the expense of incumbent majors China and Vietnam.

India's smartphone imports to the US rose more than four times, from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $5.01 billion in 2023, according to data shared by the Ministry of Commerce on Monday. Vietnam's imports have fallen to $7.9 billion from $12.6 billion, while China's have fallen to $45.2 billion from $51.1 billion during the same years.

As a percentage of market share, China's standing has fallen from 77.3% to 75.8%, while Vietnam's has fallen to 13.4% from 19.1%. India's market share has risen 8.4% from 1.7% over the same period, a growth of nearly five times.

India is the third-largest smartphone importing country to the US, with China and Vietnam still grabbing over 89% of all imports to the world's largest economy.

The country has an export strategy aimed at improving electronics competitiveness, be it through PLI schemes or otherwise, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters.

Smartphone exports form a major part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's ambitious plan to boost India's electronics production value to $300 billion by 2030.

Currently, India's electronics production stands at roughly $125–130 billion, with employment numbers ranging between 20 lakh and 25 lakh.

"The approach is to first become self-reliant and then start export-oriented manufacturing. In mobile phones, we're already transitioning to becoming an export hub," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said last month.