Apple seeks Trump admin approval to buy memory chips from blacklisted Chinese company
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Bloomberg News’ Angela Cullen reports, that Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for permission to purchase memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. (CXMT), a Chinese company on the Pentagon’s 1260H list of firms with alleged ties to the Chinese military.
According to the report, which cites six people familiar with the matter, Apple has been pressing officials at the U.S. Commerce Department and other parts of the administration for clearance to source the chips. The move comes as the company works to manage sharply rising costs for memory and storage components.
Apple is not currently prohibited from buying from CXMT. However, the iPhone maker is seeking assurances that the Chinese firm will not be added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. Placement on the Entity List would trigger strict licensing requirements for U.S. companies and significantly complicate any supply relationship.
Context of Rising Costs
The request follows Apple’s decision earlier in the week to raise prices on MacBooks, iPads, and other devices worldwide. The company cited an “unprecedented” surge in memory and storage chip costs driven by explosive demand from AI data centers. In a statement accompanying the price increases, Apple said it had previously absorbed the higher costs, but could no longer shield customers from them.CXMT is China’s largest DRAM manufacturer, producing a range of memory chips used in smartphones, PCs, tablets, and servers. The company has been expanding capacity and advancing its technology, including DDR5 and LPDDR5 products.
Background on the Blacklist
CXMT appears on the Pentagon’s Section 1260H list, which identifies Chinese companies operating in the United States that are linked to the People’s Liberation Army or other elements of the Chinese military-industrial complex. The list was updated in early June 2026, restoring CXMT (along with Yangtze Memory Technologies) after an earlier version had removed the two memory makers.
The 1260H designation carries reputational and contracting risks, but does not impose the same broad restrictions as the Entity List. Apple’s lobbying effort reflects the company’s effort to balance cost pressures against the complex U.S.-China geopolitical environment, where Washington and Beijing continue to clash over technology, trade, and critical materials such as rare earths.
Cullen’s reporting, drawing on the Financial Times account, underscores Apple’s pragmatic approach to supply-chain management amid ongoing global chip market volatility. No immediate response from Apple or the U.S. government was detailed in the initial coverage.
MacDailyNews Take: This situation, which we expect will be resolved to Apple’s liking, highlights the difficult trade-offs facing major technology companies as they navigate national security restrictions while seeking to control costs in a high-demand memory market.
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Tags: 1260H designation, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc., CXMT, memory chips, Trump administration
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