Apple Lobbies Trump Admin to Buy Chips From Blacklisted Chinese Firm
Apple wants permission to purchase memory chips from sanctioned Chinese company CXMT as chip prices climb.
Apple is pushing the Trump administration to greenlight purchases of memory chips from CXMT, a Chinese chipmaker currently sitting on the US blacklist. The goal: relief from surging chip prices that are squeezing margins.
According to the Financial Times, Apple has been actively lobbying for clearance to buy from the sanctioned company. CXMT's blacklisting has limited the pool of available memory chip suppliers, and Apple apparently wants an exception carved out.
The move puts Apple in a politically tricky spot. Buying from a blacklisted entity requires explicit government sign-off, and the Trump administration hasn't signaled which way it's leaning.
Rising memory chip costs have been hammering the electronics industry broadly, but Apple — the world's biggest buyer of components — feels the pressure at massive scale. Getting access to CXMT's supply could meaningfully ease that burden.