Apple Is Lobbying for Chips From a Blacklisted Chinese Supplier

Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for clearance to buy memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies, a Chinese company the Pentagon has placed on its blacklist, the Financial Times reported on Friday. The iPhone maker has approached the Commerce Department and White House officials as memory chip costs climb, the FT said, citing unnamed sources. The lobbying push is the clearest signal yet that the AI-driven memory crunch is reaching the world’s largest smartphone maker.

Apple’s turn to a blacklisted supplier comes as the company has already started passing those costs to its own customers. On Thursday, June 25, Apple raised prices across most of its Mac, iPad, and Apple TV lineup, citing memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry’s data center buildout. The Wall Street Journal, citing Apple, said the company has “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” Neither Apple, the White House, nor CXMT responded to Reuters requests for comment outside business hours.

The Blacklist in Apple’s Path

CXMT, China’s top memory chipmaker, was designated as a Chinese military company by the Defense Department under the Biden administration. The company, along with others, was approved by an interagency committee last year for addition to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, the FT reported. The dual designation places CXMT inside both the Pentagon’s tally of firms tied to the Chinese military and the Commerce Department’s stricter trade blacklist. Reuters did not name the officials or the specific license category Apple is pursuing.

US companies cannot ship goods, software, or technology to companies on the Entity List without a license, and Reuters reported that license is likely to be denied. That rule blocks Apple from buying CXMT’s DRAM products without specific US government permission.

CXMT has moved quickly even while restricted. According to the Wall Street Journal, CXMT’s share of the global DRAM market has risen to around 5 percent by revenue, up from zero in 2020. The company has also grown into a major Chinese DRAM maker with the scale and roadmap to meet Apple’s needs at acceptable cost. That growth is the underlying reason Apple picked CXMT, and the reason the lobbying push matters.

What Apple Is Asking Washington For

The iPhone maker has lobbied the White House for approval aimed at easing financial pressure from rising memory chip prices, the FT said, citing unnamed sources. Apple approached the Commerce Department more than a month ago and also engaged other administration officials and allies in Washington, one person told the FT. Cook has not publicly confirmed the lobbying push, and the disclosure sits inside the FT’s reporting rather than any Apple announcement.

The ask is narrowly drawn. Apple wants clearance to purchase CXMT’s memory products, not a broader reopening of US-China chip trade. The lobbying comes as the broader US trade posture toward Chinese chipmakers has tightened, not loosened, over the past year. Whether that posture can bend for a single American buyer is the open question.

The Price Hikes Apple Already Pulled the Trigger On

The lobbying push is not happening in a vacuum. On Thursday, June 25, Apple raised prices across 14 Mac, iPad, and Apple TV models. The largest jump hit the M3 Ultra Mac Studio, which climbed $1,300 to $5,299. The Apple TV 4K Wi-Fi model jumped $70 to $199, the base iPad rose $100 to $449, and the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Studio Display held their prices.

For the per-product breakdown, see the full Mac and iPad price change list on June 25 or Apple’s full June 25 Mac, iPad, and Apple TV price list.

The same price hikes also reached India, where MacBook and iPad prices climbed sharply. MacBook and iPad price hikes hitting India hardest shows the regional breakdown. Apple said the increases were driven by memory and storage chip costs tied to the AI data center buildout.

Cook’s Own Read on Why Memory Got So Expensive

Apple chief executive Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published June 17 that the company had tried to absorb rising memory costs but could no longer do so. Cook’s interview warning price hikes are unavoidable spelled out the squeeze. Cook framed it as the direct consequence of the AI buildout eating consumer-grade memory. He did not name which products could see the largest increases or mention any specific supplier.

Cook noted that more supply is being allocated to high-bandwidth memory, the stacked DRAM used inside AI accelerators, leaving less for consumer devices.

We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.

Cook said this in a Wall Street Journal interview published June 17. The diagnosis lines up with the broader market: DRAM prices have risen 80 to 90 percent this quarter per Counterpoint Research cited by the mechanics of the DRAM shortage squeezing devices, and Apple said DRAM and NAND prices have quadrupled over the past 12 months per TechInsights. New fab capacity from Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix will not meaningfully change the picture before 2027 or 2028, and Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan told the Cisco AI Summit that “There’s no relief until 2028.” Apple has not signaled a timeline for when its own prices might come back down.

• 14: Mac, iPad, and Apple TV models Apple raised prices on June 25, 2026.
• $100 billion: HBM market size projection by 2028, per Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.
• 50 percent: HBM’s share of Micron’s DRAM revenue in 2025, up from 17 percent in 2023.
• nearly 2,000: new data centers planned or under construction globally, per Data Center Map.
• $51 billion: Nvidia’s data-center revenue in the quarter ending October 2025.

Why CXMT, Why Now

CXMT sits inside a market that has been fundamentally reshaped by the AI buildout. The DRAM industry’s biggest customers, hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, are soaking up the supply of high-bandwidth memory, leaving consumer electronics makers to compete for what is left. Apple’s own statement on Thursday said the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created “an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage.” That backdrop is why CXMT looks attractive despite the security flags.

CXMT is the only Chinese DRAM maker with both the scale and the production roadmap to meet Apple’s needs at acceptable cost. Its growing share of the global market is concentrated in commodity DRAM, the type Apple uses in volume.

Press reports say the company has secured Shanghai Stock Exchange approval for an initial public offering targeting roughly $4.3 billion. Fresh capital at the moment Apple’s lobbying push arrives is one reason the timing of the FT story matters. CXMT would have money to expand capacity if Washington clears the way.

Apple has no appetite to fill the gap itself. Cook told the Journal that Apple has no plans to use its cash and silicon expertise to build its own memory and storage factories. “We’re willing to use our balance sheet to help be a part of the solution,” Cook said. The company is, however, willing to spend in other ways: it has raised prices on its own products and is now lobbying the White House to unlock a blacklisted supplier at the same time.

The Risk If Washington Says No

If the Commerce Department denies Apple’s request, the iPhone maker keeps absorbing higher DRAM and NAND costs on its existing supply chain, or seeks price relief from Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, the three suppliers that dominate the rest of the global DRAM market. Cook’s September handover to John Ternus, Apple’s hardware chief, lands in the middle of this supply shock. The lobbying push is now one of two races Apple is running at the same time, with the other being the next iPhone.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone is reportedly on track for a September launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the same month Ternus takes over. The iPhone stayed out of the June 25 price reset, but the question of whether it joins is now hanging over the September event. Cook has not yet committed publicly to iPhone pricing, and Apple did not address the iPhone in its June 25 statement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT)?

ChangXin Memory Technologies, known as CXMT, is China’s top memory chipmaker, producing DRAM for consumer electronics and enterprise use. The FT reported that CXMT was designated as a Chinese military company by the Pentagon under the Biden administration. The Wall Street Journal puts the company’s share of the global DRAM market at around 5 percent by revenue, up from zero in 2020, and press reports say CXMT has secured Shanghai Stock Exchange approval for an initial public offering targeting roughly $4.3 billion.

Why is CXMT on a US blacklist?

The Pentagon designated CXMT as a Chinese military company under the Biden administration, and an interagency committee later approved adding it to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, the FT reported. Companies on the Entity List cannot receive US goods, software, or technology without a license, and Reuters reported that any such license is likely to be denied. Apple would need a specific exemption to buy CXMT’s memory products.

How much did Apple prices rise on June 25, 2026?

Apple raised prices across 14 Mac, iPad, and Apple TV models on June 25, 2026. The M3 Ultra Mac Studio rose $1,300 to $5,299, the largest single jump in the catalog, while the Apple TV 4K Wi-Fi model climbed 54.3 percent to $199. The iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Studio Display held their prices. Apple said the increases were driven by memory and storage chip costs tied to the AI data center buildout.

Will the iPhone get a price hike next?

Apple has not announced iPhone price changes. The iPhone was left out of the June 25 reset. Cook told the Wall Street Journal earlier in June that price increases are “unavoidable” but did not name the iPhone specifically. Apple’s first foldable iPhone is reportedly on track for a September launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and any pricing decision would land alongside that product cycle.

What is Apple doing about the memory shortage?

Cook has said Apple is willing to use its cash reserves to help expand memory supply, but the company has ruled out building its own memory factories. Apple’s strategy so far combines absorbing costs, raising prices on its own lineup, and lobbying Washington for clearance to buy from CXMT. Whether the lobbying succeeds will determine whether a blacklisted Chinese supplier becomes a meaningful part of Apple’s supply chain.