Apple seeks US permission to purchase chips from CXMT as memory prices surge by four times.

      Apple is actively seeking approval from the US government to acquire memory chips from CXMT, a company that is included on the Pentagon’s military blacklist. According to the Financial Times, Apple has been engaging with officials from the Commerce Department and members of the Trump administration about this matter. CXMT, which is China’s largest DRAM producer, is listed among companies allegedly linked to the Chinese military. Six sources familiar with the situation informed the FT that Apple initially contacted the Commerce Department over a month ago.

      Currently, Apple is not prohibited from purchasing chips from CXMT. The company is on the Pentagon's 1260H list, which carries reputational risks and limits Defense Department contracting but does not prevent private enterprises from conducting business with it. What Apple is pursuing, as reported by the FT, is assurance that CXMT will not be added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, a separate classification that would impose stricter regulations requiring American companies to obtain a license for purchases.

      This lobbying effort comes as Apple faces a significant memory shortage, the worst in its recent history. On June 25, the company raised prices across its Mac, iPad, and home device lines, with increases between $100 and $500 per item. For instance, the MacBook Air 13-inch price increased from $1,099 to $1,299, the MacBook Pro 16-inch from $2,499 to $2,999, and the Vision Pro by $500. Following these price hikes, Apple’s stock dropped more than 6 percent, marking its largest single-day decline since April 2025. Counterpoint Research reports that memory prices have surged fourfold over the past three quarters as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted wafer capacity from consumer DRAM to high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers. Apple indicated during its earnings call in April that the supply shortage would worsen before it gets better.

      CXMT has become a possible solution, providing DDR5 memory to Western brands such as Corsair at lower prices than the leading manufacturers. However, being on the 1260H list makes CXMT a politically sensitive supplier for major American companies, especially one as prominent as Apple.

      The 1260H designation has had a tumultuous recent past; the Pentagon briefly removed CXMT and another Chinese chipmaker, YMTC, from the list in February, only to retract the update after pushback from Congress. Both companies were reinstated in a June update that broadened the list to 188 entities, including Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD, along with numerous other Chinese tech and defense firms.

      The difference between being on the 1260H list and the Entity List is crucial for Apple's supply chain decisions. The 1260H classification indicates that the Pentagon associates a company with military affiliations, but it does not prevent commercial transactions between private companies. In contrast, the Entity List, managed by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, would impose licensing requirements that could effectively cut off CXMT as a supplier.

      Apple's lobbying efforts aim to obtain certainty before forming a partnership that could be disrupted by a single regulatory decision. The company has observed how other businesses have navigated similar uncertainties with varying degrees of success and appears hesitant to establish a supply chain dependency without formal guarantees from the government.

      Apple declined to comment on the discussions, and the White House did not respond to the FT’s inquiry for a statement.