Overview
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick publicly told Apple on Aug. 14 that the administration is opposed to the company buying memory chips from Chinese firms CXMT and YMTC.
- Apple has been testing and evaluating CXMT and YMTC parts as a way to ease a global DRAM and NAND shortage, and company leaders say they are looking at all options including off‑the‑shelf purchases.
- U.S. rules already restrict technical transfers because YMTC is on the Commerce Department Entity List and both companies appear on the Pentagon’s 1260H roster, which would require licenses before sharing product designs for custom chips.
- A bipartisan group of senators and U.S. memory maker Micron have pressed Apple to abandon deals with CXMT and YMTC and given the company an Aug. 21 request for a clear commitment.
- If Apple accepts Chinese memory it could lower short‑term component costs but would likely raise political and industry fallout, risk disrupting U.S. memory makers’ investment plans, and leave Apple reliant on suppliers that face export and reputational limits.