TL;DR
Apple is lobbying the US government for approval to buy memory chips from CXMT, which sits on the Pentagon’s military blacklist.
Apple has been lobbying Commerce Department officials and other members of the Trump administration for approval to buy memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies, according to the Financial Times. CXMT is China’s largest DRAM manufacturer and sits on the Pentagon’s list of companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military. Six people familiar with the discussions told the FT that Apple first approached the Commerce Department more than a month ago.
Apple is not currently barred from buying CXMT chips. The company appears on the Pentagon’s so-called 1260H list, a designation that carries reputational risk and restricts Defence Department contracting but does not impose the kind of trade restrictions that would prevent a private company from doing business with it. What Apple is seeking, according to the FT, is a guarantee that CXMT will not be added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, a separate and far more restrictive designation that would require American buyers to obtain a licence before purchasing its products.
The lobbying comes as Apple faces the most severe memory shortage in its recent history. The company raised prices across its Mac, iPad, and home device lineups on June 25, with increases ranging from $100 to $500 per product. The MacBook Air 13-inch went from $1,099 to $1,299, the MacBook Pro 16-inch rose from $2,499 to $2,999, and Vision Pro climbed by $500.
Apple shares fell more than 6 percent on the day of the price increases, their worst single-day drop since April 2025. Memory prices have quadrupled over the past three quarters, according to Counterpoint Research, as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have redirected wafer capacity from consumer DRAM to high-bandwidth memory for AI data centres. Apple warned during its April earnings call that the shortage would worsen before it improved.
CXMT has emerged as a potential relief valve. The company has been supplying DDR5 memory to Western brands including Corsair at prices that undercut the three dominant manufacturers. But its position on the 1260H list makes it a politically sensitive supplier for any major American company, particularly one as visible as Apple.
The 1260H designation has had a turbulent recent history. The Pentagon briefly removed CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker YMTC from the list in February before withdrawing the update entirely after criticism from China hawks in Congress. Both companies were restored to the list in a June update that expanded it to 188 entities, adding Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD alongside dozens of other Chinese technology and defence companies.
The distinction between the 1260H list and the Entity List matters enormously for Apple’s supply chain calculus. Being on the 1260H list signals that the Pentagon considers a company to have military ties, but it does not block commercial transactions between private firms. The Entity List, maintained 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 is an attempt to secure certainty before committing to a relationship that could be upended by a single regulatory decision. The company has watched other firms navigate the same ambiguity with mixed results, and appears unwilling to build a supply chain dependency without a formal assurance from Washington.
Apple declined to comment on the discussions. The White House did not respond to the FT’s request for comment.
