Washington pressures Apple to avoid Chinese memory chips amid supply and security concerns

The US government has urged Apple to cease sourcing memory chips from Chinese firms amid fears over security risks and supply shortages driven by AI demand, marking a new escalation in tech-industrial geopolitics.

Washington is pressing Apple not to source memory chips from China, with the issue now sitting at the intersection of supply shortages, industrial policy and national security. According to The Wall Street Journal, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has told Apple directly that the Trump administration opposes large US companies buying Chinese memory chips, even as the market for these components remains under severe strain.

The concern in Washington is that deals with Chinese suppliers could give firms such as ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, access to US technical know-how. The Telegraph reported that Apple needs government approval if it wants to share product information with CXMT for bespoke chip production, although no such licence is required for standard off-the-shelf semiconductors.

The dispute comes at a time of persistent global memory scarcity, driven in part by heavy demand from artificial intelligence systems. That shortage has pushed prices higher and left device makers, including Apple, looking for additional supply. Reuters has previously reported that chip makers and hardware groups are struggling to secure enough memory as AI infrastructure absorbs capacity across the sector.

Pressure on Apple has also intensified on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged the administration to block imports of memory chips from Chinese companies, including CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies, or YMTC, arguing that their use would create unacceptable risks for economic resilience and supply-chain security. Tom’s Hardware reported that some lawmakers want the restrictions aligned with allied countries to stop Chinese suppliers becoming embedded in Western electronics chains.

Tom’s Hardware and Business Standard have also reported that Apple has explored sourcing from Chinese memory makers to ease supply constraints, with one reported idea being to limit such components to devices sold only in China. Even so, US senators have warned the company against any reliance on Chinese suppliers for critical parts, saying the risk remains even if the chips never leave the Chinese market. The broader policy backdrop is already restrictive: the Pentagon has designated YMTC as a military company, a status that bars it from using US-designed chipmaking equipment.