Apple wants a government exemption to buy memory chips from a Chinese company the Pentagon says has military ties.
Apple has been lobbying Commerce Department officials and members of the Trump administration to approve purchases from ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, China's largest DRAM manufacturer. CXMT sits on the Pentagon's list of companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military — a designation that would normally put it off-limits for American firms. The push was reported by the Financial Times, citing six people familiar with the talks.
The timing matters: memory prices have roughly quadrupled, and Apple needs DRAM at scale for its devices. Sourcing from CXMT would give Apple pricing leverage against established suppliers like Samsung and SK Hynix. That's a straightforward business case — it's also a significant ask, given that the same administration has spent two years tightening chip export controls aimed squarely at Chinese semiconductor firms.
This puts Apple in a familiar but uncomfortable position: pressing for a carve-out on national-security grounds while publicly emphasizing its commitment to American supply chains. Whether the Commerce Department grants the exemption will signal how much flexibility the Trump administration is willing to extend to its largest domestic tech company — and how seriously it takes its own blacklist.