Reuters: Hon Hai will move some iPad and MacBook production from mainland China to Vietnam

Foxconn is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly lines from mainland China to Vietnam at Apple's request, people familiar with the matter said, according to Reuters. The move is aimed at minimizing the impact of the Sino-US trade war by diversifying production.

U.S. President Donald Trump has encouraged U.S. companies to move production to mainland China. During his tenure, the U.S. has targeted electronics made in China, raising import tariffs on them and restricting the supply of components produced with U.S. technology to mainland Chinese companies deemed to be a national security risk.

Taiwanese manufacturers, concerned about being caught in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some products from mainland China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and India.

Foxconn is building an assembly line for Apple iPad tablets and MacBook laptops at its factory in Bac Giang province in northeastern Vietnam, which will start production in the first half of 2021, people familiar with the matter said.

In addition, the line will also receive some output from mainland China, but no details were given on how much output would be transferred.

“This is something that Apple has requested as it seeks to diversify its production after the trade war,” the person said.

Foxconn said in a statement: "As a matter of company policy, we do not comment on any aspect of any customer or their products due to commercial sensitivity."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Recently, Foxconn announced that it would invest US$270 million through a subsidiary to establish a new company, FuKang Technology Company limited, in preparation for expanding production capacity in Vietnam.

In addition to Apple products, the report also pointed out that Foxconn will also assemble monitors and other related components for another customer, Sony, at its Beijiang plant, and plans to start assembly production at the end of this year or early next year.