Apple Intensifies Pressure on Trump Administration to Secure Chips from Blacklisted Chinese Firm

Apple is pressuring the Trump administration to get approval to buy chips from a blacklisted Chinese company, according to a Financial Times report. The newspaper cited sources saying Apple seeks to buy memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), on the Pentagon's blacklist. Apple's efforts, including White House contacts, aim to ease financial strain from rising memory chip prices. These moves highlight the dual challenge for major US tech firms: rising chip costs versus Washington's security restrictions on Chinese companies. Sources noted Apple contacted the Commerce Department over a month ago, also reaching out to other officials and Washington allies. Under the Biden administration, the US Department of Defense classified CXMT, a top Chinese memory chip maker, as a military company. A joint inter-agency committee then approved its addition to the Commerce Department's Entity List last year. These restrictions bar US companies from shipping goods, software, or technology to listed entities without a license, which is typically denied. Separately, Apple raised iPad and MacBook prices Thursday, citing inability to absorb rising memory and storage chip costs, fueled by AI data center expansion.