Apple's chip dilemma
Apple seeks White House approval to buy chips from blacklisted Chinese firm CXMT.
Apple is asking the Trump administration for permission to buy memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese company the Pentagon has labeled a national security risk, Reuters reports. The request, first revealed by the Financial Times, comes as Apple struggles with soaring memory costs that forced it to raise MacBook and iPad prices by up to $500 in late June.
Apple approached the U.S. Commerce Department more than a month ago and has since engaged other officials across Washington, Reuters reports. The move puts Apple at the center of a fierce clash between U.S. national security policy and the brutal economics of the global chip shortage.
Memory Prices Spike, Apple Absorbs a $263 Billion Hit
A global shortage of DRAM — the memory chips that power phones, laptops, and AI servers — has sent costs soaring in 2026. Apple had shielded customers from rising prices for months. But by June 25, it could no longer hold the line. The company raised the starting price of the MacBook Air to $1,299, up from $1,099. The Mac Studio jumped by a record $1,300.
Markets punished Apple immediately. The company lost $263 billion in market value in a single day — its second-largest one-day drop ever, according to Reuters. Tim Cook has said "all cards need to be on the table" to solve the component crunch, signaling how desperate the situation has become for the world's most valuable company.
CXMT Is Blacklisted — But the Ban Has a Loophole
The Pentagon placed CXMT on its "Chinese Military Company" list — known as the 1260H list — citing alleged ties to China's People's Liberation Army. That designation bars the U.S. military from doing business with CXMT. But it does not technically stop private American companies like Apple from buying its chips, Reuters reports.
A stricter ban would come if the Commerce Department added CXMT to its "Entity List," which would block almost all trade without a special license. So far, Commerce has held off on that step, reportedly to avoid inflaming trade tensions during delicate U.S.-China negotiations. CXMT's revenue grew 719% year-over-year in Q1 2026, according to the Financial Times.
Apple Has Been Down This Road Before With China Chips
This is not Apple's first attempt to source chips from a Chinese memory maker. In 2022, Apple completed testing to use NAND flash chips from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) in the iPhone. The plan was scrapped after the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee warned it posed a national security threat, Reuters reports.
Now Apple is trying again, this time with CXMT and DRAM chips. The goal is to break its reliance on the "Big Three" memory makers — Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron — and use cheaper Chinese supply to ease price pressure. CXMT's global DRAM market share is projected to jump from 8% to 12% between 2025 and 2027, according to industry analysts.
Washington Is Torn Between Security Hawkswand Consumer Costs
The Trump administration faces a difficult choice. Granting Apple a waiver would anger domestic chip giant Micron, which has spent over $800,000 lobbying Congress to restrict Chinese memory firms. Senator Marsha Blackburn introduced legislation in June to speed up blacklisting of Chinese tech companies, calling the current delays a national security risk.
But denying the request carries its own pain. Analysts predict the iPhone 18, due this fall, could cost $100 to $200 more per unit if Apple cannot secure cheaper memory. The Trump administration is simultaneously pushing "Buy American" chip deals — including a new partnership with Intel — while trying to hold together a fragile trade truce with Beijing, Reuters reports.
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