Apple is seeking permission from the Trump administration to buy memory chips from CXMT, a Chinese chipmaker on the Pentagon’s military-linked blacklist. The tech giant approached the US Commerce Department about a month ago to discuss the potential supply deal. CXMT is currently listed on the US Defense Department’s 1260H registry of companies suspected of links to the People’s Liberation Army.
While Apple is not legally barred from purchasing components from CXMT, doing so without regulatory approval could jeopardize its federal government contracts. Representative John Moolenaar warned that moving forward with CXMT would be a grave mistake. Customers looking for smaller Apple desktops can read our coverage of the M4 Mac Mini redesign to see current model choices.
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The request follows Apple’s recent decisions to raise prices across its Mac and iPad product lines by 17% to 25%. Under the new pricing, the MacBook Neo price increased from $599 to $699, while the MacBook Air rose by $200. This pricing update caused Apple stock to drop 6.1% on the day, erasing about $265 billion in total market value.
The company currently buys its memory from Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix to supply its consumer hardware. However, these chipmakers are under high pressure from artificial intelligence data center demand, which has quadrupled memory prices over the past nine months. Adding CXMT as a fourth supplier would help reduce Apple’s reliance on its tightening supply chain.
Apple CEO Tim Cook expects these supply constraints to continue for the next few months. Cook is scheduled to hand over leadership of the company to incoming CEO John Ternus on September 1. Neither Apple nor the Trump administration has commented publicly on whether the CXMT approval will be granted.
Source: Financial Times
