TL;DR

Apple is pressing US officials for clearance to source memory chips from CXMT, which appears on the Pentagon blacklist for alleged military connections.

Apple has urged Commerce Department staff and other Trump administration figures to allow purchases of memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies, the Financial Times learned. CXMT ranks as China top DRAM producer and features on the Pentagon roster of firms with claimed Chinese military links. Six individuals aware of the talks informed the FT that Apple first contacted the Commerce Department over a month earlier.

Apple faces no current ban on acquiring CXMT chips. The firm appears on the Pentagon 1260H roster, a label that brings reputational concerns and limits Defense Department deals but stops short of the trade curbs that would block private firms from working with it. What Apple wants, per the FT, is assurance that CXMT will avoid addition to the Commerce Department Entity List, a stricter tag that would force American buyers to secure licenses ahead of any purchases.

The push occurs while Apple deals with its worst memory shortage in years. The firm lifted prices on Mac, iPad, and home device ranges on June 25, with hikes from $100 to $500 per item. The MacBook Air 13-inch rose from $1,099 to $1,299, the MacBook Pro 16-inch climbed from $2,499 to $2,999, and Vision Pro increased by $500.

Apple stock dropped over 6 percent on the day prices rose, marking its steepest one-day fall since April 2025. Memory costs have risen fourfold across the past three quarters, Counterpoint Research notes, since Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron shifted wafer output from consumer DRAM to high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers. Apple cautioned in its April earnings call that the shortage would grow worse before easing.

CXMT offers a possible workaround. The firm has sold DDR5 memory to Western names such as Corsair at rates below those of the three leading suppliers. Yet its spot on the 1260H list renders it a sensitive choice for any large US company, especially one as prominent as Apple.

The 1260H label has seen recent shifts. The Pentagon briefly dropped CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker YMTC from the list in February, then reversed the move after pushback from congressional China critics. Both firms returned to the list in a June revision that grew it to 188 entities, adding Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD along with many other Chinese tech and defense groups.

The gap between the 1260H list and the Entity List holds major weight for Apple supply planning. Placement on the 1260H list indicates Pentagon views of military ties but leaves commercial deals between private parties open. The Entity List, run by the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security, would add license rules that could cut off CXMT as a source.

Apple lobbying aims to gain clarity before entering a tie that one regulatory step could end. The company has seen other firms handle similar uncertainty with uneven outcomes and now avoids building supply reliance without formal Washington backing.

Apple offered no comment on the talks. The White House gave no reply to the FT query.