Apple Lobbies White House to Buy Chips From Blacklisted Chinese Firm
Apple is seeking U.S. government approval to source memory chips from sanctioned Chinese chipmaker CXMT in a bid to cut costs.
Apple is pushing the White House for a special authorization to purchase memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese semiconductor company that has been placed on a U.S. government blacklist, according to a Financial Times report published Saturday. The move signals how seriously the iPhone maker is weighing its chip procurement costs — and how far it is willing to go to reduce dependence on pricier suppliers.
CXMT, one of China's most ambitious domestic memory chip producers, was added to a U.S. trade restriction list, meaning American companies are generally prohibited from doing business with it without explicit government approval. Apple's reported lobbying effort represents a calculated bet that the administration might grant an exemption, a path that has precedent but remains politically sensitive given ongoing U.S.-China technology tensions.
Read more Amazon and ThunderSoft Team Up on In-Vehicle Voice AI →
The request puts Apple at the intersection of two competing imperatives: the commercial pressure to manage component costs as its devices face pricing scrutiny, and the geopolitical reality of an increasingly restrictive U.S. export control regime designed to limit China's semiconductor ascent. For Apple, which has spent years diversifying its supply chain away from China in other areas, turning toward a blacklisted Chinese chipmaker for cost relief would mark a notable strategic tension.
Whether the White House grants the waiver remains unclear. Such decisions typically involve interagency review and carry implications beyond any single company — a green light for Apple could invite similar requests from other major U.S. technology firms seeking cheaper Chinese chip alternatives. The outcome will be watched closely by the broader semiconductor industry as a signal of how flexibly Washington intends to apply its blacklist in practice.
Continue reading at Yahoo.
