Hey, it may seem weird, but here's one way it might work. Again, I know jack-shit about the specifics. If some portion of the phone is imported, and that porti

Hey, it may seem weird, but here's one way it might work. Again, I know jack-shit about the specifics. If some portion of the phone is imported, and that portion has duties, under normal circumstances Apple's subcontractor would import that thing, pay the duty on it, then export the phone and file for the duties to be refunded. If the phone stays in China, the duty applies. So there may be duties involved if there are materials imported to China for assembly.