Apple Lobbies Trump to Buy CXMT Chips as RAM

What is Apple asking the Trump administration to approve?

Apple is lobbying the Trump administration to greenlight purchases of memory chips from CXMT, China's largest DRAM manufacturer, after memory prices quadrupled and forced the company to raise product prices by up to $500. Six people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that Apple first approached the Commerce Department more than a month ago, then expanded its lobbying effort to other parts of the administration.

CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) is a Chinese DRAM maker that the Pentagon has placed on its so-called 1260H list — a designation for companies with alleged ties to the People's Liberation Army.

Is Apple currently banned from buying CXMT chips?

Apple is not currently barred from buying chips from CXMT. The 1260H list carries reputational risk and restricts Defense Department contracting, but it does not block commercial transactions between private companies.

What Apple wants is something more specific: a guarantee that CXMT will not be added to the Commerce Department's Entity List. That list, maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security, would require American buyers to obtain a license before purchasing CXMT products — and could effectively cut off the supplier entirely.

What did Apple CEO Tim Cook say about Chinese memory suppliers?

Cook signaled Apple's interest publicly before the formal lobbying push. In a Wall Street Journal interview a week before the price increases, Cook said of Chinese memory suppliers: "I think everything needs to be on the table," adding, "I think we should look at all supply." According to 9to5Mac, Apple appears to have pushed harder after that interview and the subsequent price increases failed to produce results.

You might also like

Trump EO Gives Government 30-Day AI Model Access

US Switches On First New Reactor in 40+ Years

IBM 0.7nm Nanostack Doubles Chip Density

Google Expands Publisher AI Licensing Program

How much have Apple product prices increased?

Apple raised prices across its Mac, iPad, and home device lineups on June 25, 2026. The increases ranged from $100 to $500 per product.

Apple shares fell more than 6% on the day of the price increases — their worst single-day drop since April 2025.

Why have memory prices quadrupled?

Memory prices have quadrupled over the past three quarters, according to Counterpoint Research. The cause: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have redirected wafer capacity away from consumer DRAM and toward high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers. This is part of the broader Micron AI memory supercycle that analysts have flagged as a multi-year structural shift. Apple warned during its April 2026 earnings call that the shortage would worsen before it improved.

Where does CXMT fit in the global memory market?

CXMT has been supplying DDR5 memory to Western brands including Corsair at prices that undercut Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. That pricing makes it an attractive alternative for Apple during the current shortage. The company is also China's largest DRAM manufacturer, which gives it the scale to matter as a supplier.

The Samsung HBM4 sales milestone and the broader AI-driven demand shift illustrate why the three dominant manufacturers have little incentive to redirect capacity back to consumer DRAM anytime soon.

What is the 1260H list, and why does it complicate this?

The 1260H list is the Pentagon's designation for Chinese companies with alleged ties to the PLA that are said to undermine US national security. Being on it signals military connections but does not block commercial sales to private firms.

The list has had a turbulent recent history. The Pentagon briefly removed CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker YMTC from the 1260H list in February 2026, then reversed that decision after criticism from China hawks in Congress. Both companies were restored in a June 2026 update that expanded the list to 188 entities — adding Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD, among others. As The Next Web reports, Apple is seeking certainty before committing to a supply chain relationship that a single regulatory decision could upend.

The situation echoes other hardware supply chain pressures playing out across the industry — from Nvidia banned chips trading at a premium on secondary markets to the broader scramble for advanced semiconductor capacity.

Here's what we know so far: Apple has made no public comment on the lobbying discussions, and the White House did not respond to the Financial Times's request for comment. No formal approval or denial has been reported.

The concrete next step the sources identify is Apple waiting on a response from the Commerce Department and the broader Trump administration — with no timeline confirmed.