Apple seeks US green light to buy chips from banned Chinese company
Apple is seeking approval from the Trump administration to acquire memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies, a Chinese firm that has been placed on a blacklist by the Pentagon, according to a report. The iPhone maker has engaged in discussions with the White House seeking approval intended to alleviate financial strain on the company resulting from escalating memory chip prices, according to reports from sources. The lobbying push highlights the predicament confronting major US technology companies as escalating memory chip prices intersect with Washington’s national security limitations on Chinese chip manufacturers.
Apple reached out to the Commerce Department over a month ago and also interacted with various administration officials and allies in Washington, according to one source. CXMT, China’s top memory chipmaker, was designated as a Chinese military company by the Defence Department under the Biden administration. The company, among others, received approval from an interagency committee last year for inclusion on the Commerce Department’s Entity List.
US companies are prohibited from shipping goods, software, and technology to entities on the list without obtaining a license, which is expected to be denied. Apple increased the prices of its iPad and MacBook on Thursday, citing an inability to continue absorbing the rising costs of memory and storage chips, which have been propelled by the data center expansion within the AI sector.
