APPLE LOSES TITLE OF MOST VALUABLE COMPANY TO MICROSOFT

 NEW YORK, April 9 (Bernama-dpa) -- Tech giant Apple has lost its crown as the world's most valuable company, with Microsoft overtaking it on Tuesday, as investors react to fears over the impact of sweeping US tariffs on Chinese imports, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

Apple shares have fallen by more than 20 per cent, wiping out over US$700 billion in recent days, bringing its market value down to around US$2.6 trillion. Microsoft, meanwhile, edged ahead with a valuation of US$2.64 trillion.

The shift comes as the iPhone maker faces mounting challenges from new US trade tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration. Starting Wednesday, combined import duties on goods from China – where most iPhones are assembled – will reach as high as 104 per cent, sparking concerns about supply chain costs.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is now planning to initially ship iPhones from India to the United States, while chief executive Tim Cook is seeking an exemption from the tariffs. Goods imported from India face a 27 per cent US tariff.

However, analysts say the situation remains too uncertain for the company to commit to long-term supply chain changes.

White House officials have continued to press Apple to shift production to the United States. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick questioned why Apple still manufactures iPhones in China, suggesting robots and local labour could replace cheaper overseas production. He argued this would create "millions" of US jobs.

However, Dan Ives from the financial firm Wedbush Securities told CNN no company is more caught up in this tariff than Apple.

Building iPhones in the US could raise the price of a single device to US$3,500, he said, and that it would take Apple US$30 billion and three years to move just 10 per cent of its supply chain to the US.

"There are no good answers," said analyst Craig Moffett on CNBC. "There isn't simply the capability and the workforce," he said, adding that the numbers and wage rates make it untenable that in any realistic time period production can be shifted to the US.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that Trump wants to bring back manufacturing to the US, believing the country has both the workforce and the resources to manufacture the devices domestically.

-- BERNAMA-dpa