Apple NASDAQ:AAPL is lobbying the Trump administration for permission to source memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies, a Chinese supplier blacklisted by the U.S. government.
The iPhone maker has approached the White House, Commerce Department and other administration officials in recent weeks seeking approval to purchase DRAM and NAND memory chips from CXMT, the report said. Apple is grappling with rising component costs driven largely by booming artificial intelligence-related demandCXMT, China's largest memory chipmaker, has been designated a Chinese military company by the Pentagon and approved for addition to the Commerce Department's Entity List. U.S. exports of goods and technology to companies on the list generally require a government license that is typically presumed to be denied.
The discussions highlight the difficult position facing major U.S. technology companies as Washington tightens restrictions on Chinese semiconductor firms while AI-driven demand continues to push memory prices higher. Apple last week raised prices on certain iPad and MacBook models, citing higher memory and storage component costs that it said it could no longer fully absorb as AI infrastructure investment drives up chip demand.