Apple Lobbies White House to Buy Chips From Blacklisted Chinese Maker as Memory Costs Surge

The Quick Take

• Apple is lobbying the White House for permission to source memory chips from a blacklisted Chinese manufacturer as rising chip prices create financial pressure on iPhone production costs
• The move highlights the tension between US chip export controls targeting Chinese semiconductor companies and the practical reality that Apple depends on Chinese memory suppliers that have become cost-competitive
• If approved, the exemption would be a significant policy precedent — and if denied, Apple faces higher memory costs that could compress iPhone margins or require consumer price increases

Apple Inc. is reportedly lobbying the White House for regulatory relief to purchase memory chips from a blacklisted Chinese chipmaker — likely ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) or a similar Chinese DRAM manufacturer that has been placed on the US Entity List under export control regulations. The Financial Times reported on Apple's lobbying effort, revealing that iPhone memory chip cost pressures have reached a level that the company believes justifies seeking a formal waiver from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. The timing is significant: memory chip prices have surged in 2026 due to the AI server HBM demand boom that is consuming Samsung and SK Hynix capacity, leaving conventional DRAM and NAND pricing elevated for non-AI applications like smartphones.

The strategic dilemma Apple faces is the direct result of US chip export control policy designed to limit China's access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology — but the policy has a complex feedback loop. Chinese memory chipmakers that were placed on the Entity List have continued developing their capabilities through domestic supply chains and have reached price competitiveness on standard DRAM that makes them attractive suppliers for cost-sensitive applications like consumer smartphones. Apple, which has historically diversified memory suppliers across Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and various NAND suppliers, is now navigating a situation where the Entity List restrictions are creating a cost disadvantage relative to Chinese competitors who source from the blacklisted supplier without restriction.

The White House decision — whether to grant a waiver, deny it, or grant a temporary license — will set a significant precedent for how the Biden/Trump administration balances trade and national security policy with the practical commercial interests of US technology flagship companies. A granted waiver would signal that Apple's commercial interests outweigh the symbolic weight of the Entity List blacklisting, potentially inviting similar waiver requests from other US companies facing Chinese supplier restrictions. A denial would maintain the integrity of the blacklist but impose real costs on Apple's supply chain that may eventually pass through to iPhone consumers.

Synthesized from 1 source.