Apple has reportedly asked suppliers in Taiwan to strictly enforce a long-standing rule that Taiwanese-made parts and components are labelled made either in “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei.

According to Nikkei, the company wants to avoid disruption from strict Chinese customs inspections resulting from the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan last week.

The Cupertino-based tech behemoth has asked the suppliers to treat the matter with urgency to avoid possible disruptions caused by goods and components being held for scrutiny, the report said.

The announcement comes at a time when Apple is all set to launch iPhone 14 and other new products in September.

Any item, document or carton bearing “Made in Taiwan” phrase can lead to shipments getting delayed or rejected by the Chinese customs authorities, and, in a worst-case scenario, a fine of 4,000 yuan ($592) may also be levied, Nikkei reported quoting sources.

Beijing considers Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be reunited with the Chinese mainland. But Taiwan, which has a population of around 23 million, is a self-ruled island that sees itself as distinct from the mainland.

Ever since the Covid pandemic resulted in supply disruption, Apple has been making efforts to diversify its production process.

The US tech giant has been betting big on Indian and Brazilian sites and trying to be less reliant on Chinese factories.

However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo notes that the iPhone 14 production capacity in India won’t be enough to fill the gap caused by production challenges in China in the short term, but added that it’s still an “important milestone for Apple” when it comes to expanding iPhone production to other places, reports The Guardian.

(With inputs from agencies)