We learned yesterday that Apple is trying to persuade the Trump administration to allow it to buy memory chips from two Chinese companies blacklisted by the Pentagon, CXMT and YMTC.
Apple previously sought permission from the Biden administration to do the same thing back in 2022, and that did not go well – despite promising to use the chips only for iPhones sold in China …
As we made clear yesterday, Apple is not legally banned from buying chips from either company. However, there are two reasons why the iPhone maker would want to seek a green light from the White House before actually doing so.
First, the Pentagon blacklist means that Apple using chips from the two companies might see iPhones being banned for use by some or all federal employees. Second, Apple tries to stay on good terms with whichever administration is in power. For those reasons, Apple is seeking official clearance.
However, we’ve been here before, and although that was a different administration, there was strong bipartisan opposition to the idea. The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence wrote then:
Reuters reported at the time that Apple planned to use chips from YMTC only in iPhones sold in the Chinese market, but this did not mollify opponents.
Given that Trump’s acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio was one of those to sign the letter, it seems unlikely that Apple would be given the go-ahead now.
- Official Apple Store on Amazon
- Discounted AirPods Pro 3
- Wireless CarPlay adapter
- AirTag holders and accessories
- Mac Pro-style Mac mini casing
- NordVPN – privacy-first VPN with no logs and independent audits to verify
Via Daring Fireball. Photo: Apple.
