Trump Administration ‘Not in Favor’ of Apple Using Chinese RAM

The Wall Street Journal (gift link):

To help alleviate the supply crunch, Apple is looking to Chinese manufacturers.

“The Trump administration is not in favor of that,” Lutnick said in an interview after touring an Apple manufacturing facility in Houston. There have to be “other solutions to the memory issue, but it’s not great American companies using Chinese memory.”

Asked if he has relayed that message to Apple, Lutnick said “plainly.”

But:

U.S. government rules require American companies to secure a license before sharing product information with CXMT and YMTC. The Chinese chip makers would need such information if they were to make customized chips for Apple. But Apple is free to buy off-the-shelf parts from the companies, and to negotiate prices with them.

Apple’s chief operating officer, Sabih Khan, declined to confirm that Apple was testing Chinese memory chips in an interview Thursday. But he said that given the magnitude of the supply shortage, “we have to look at all options,” including working with existing suppliers to increase U.S. production.

★ Sunday, 16 August 2026