Micron lobbies administration to block Apple’s Chinese chip purchases
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration does not want Apple to buy memory chips from China, publicly disclosing Washington’s stance in a lobbying battle between Apple and Micron Technology over Apple’s potential use of Chinese suppliers.
“The Trump administration is not in favor of that,” Lutnick said in an interview after touring an Apple manufacturing facility in Houston on Thursday. There have to be “other solutions to the memory issue, but it’s not great American companies using Chinese memory,” he said. Asked whether he had relayed the message to Apple, Lutnick replied “plainly.”
The comments put the administration on record against Apple’s exploration of Chinese memory chips, even as the two sides sought to highlight their cooperation at the Houston factory tour. Apple, the largest U.S. device maker, has taken steps to reshore manufacturing to win tariff relief from President Trump, while continuing to invest far more in its foreign supply chain.
Apple has been testing memory chips made by CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies for potential inclusion in devices sold in China, according to people familiar with the effort. U.S. export-control rules require American companies to obtain a license before sharing product information with the two Chinese manufacturers — a routine part of developing customized chips for Apple’s devices. The restrictions do not prohibit Apple from buying off-the-shelf parts from the two companies or negotiating prices with them. Laptop makers HP and Acer have started using memory chips from CXMT in devices sold outside the U.S.
Apple COO Sabih Khan declined to confirm the testing in an interview Thursday. But Khan said the magnitude of the global memory shortage has forced the company to consider every available source. “We have to look at all options,” he said. Khan also noted that “there isn’t a lot of customization” for memory, language that left open the possibility of using commodity Chinese chips.
Micron Technology, the Idaho-based memory-chip maker, has asked the Trump administration not to let Apple use Chinese chips, arguing that doing so would harm domestic production and undercut the White House’s goal of onshoring semiconductor manufacturing. Micron’s own U.S. investment plans have given it leverage in discussions with the administration and lawmakers, putting Trump in the middle of a lobbying battle between two of the largest American businesses.
Senators from states where memory-chip makers have promised to expand — including New York, Indiana and Idaho — wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook in late July urging the company not to work with the Chinese chipmakers.
The dispute has emerged as demand for computer memory from AI data centers has tightened supply and pushed prices for what is available higher. Apple and other makers of consumer electronics are raising product prices significantly, and Apple is looking to Chinese manufacturers to help ease the crunch. Khan said Apple is also working with existing suppliers to increase U.S. production.
White House spokesman Kush Desai framed the administration’s position as part of its broader semiconductor agenda. “Reshoring semiconductor manufacturing is a top priority for President Trump, whose policies have already secured hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in this key sector,” Desai said. “The Trump administration remains focused on delivering more investments and jobs for the American people while safeguarding our national security.”
Lutnick, who is spearheading the administration’s effort to expand domestic chipmaking, described the pressure on Apple in blunt terms. “Relentlessly, more and more and more,” he said. “They’ve built their supply chains on low-cost labor. And now they need to build a supply chain on advanced manufacturing. Can Apple do it? Of course they can.” Lutnick predicted Apple would gradually shift more production to the United States: “You’re going to see step by step, and piece by piece, they’re going to bring significant portions of their business home.”
The administration has previously won deals for Intel to make some of Apple’s chips and a commitment from Apple to make all the cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches in the United States. Khan pointed to those commitments, along with plans to add a Mac Mini assembly line in Texas and tens of billions of dollars in made-in-USA chip purchases, as evidence of Apple’s reshoring trajectory. He said Apple was focused on helping chip manufacturers reshore their supply chain “end to end.”
Most of Apple’s supply chain remains in Asia. The company has been working with contract manufacturers to build new iPhone assembly plants in India. Asked if Apple has any plans to bring iPhone production to the U.S., Khan pointed to existing efforts rather than new commitments.
Apple is not alone in asking for help with the memory crunch. Companies in industries from medical devices to automobiles have asked the administration for help addressing the same shortage, according to the Journal. Policy options are limited because new chip-fabrication capacity can take more than a year to come online.
The Lutnick interview follows MSI’s reporting that Apple was testing CXMT memory chips while seeking White House approval and the Apple-Micron lobbying fight over Chinese memory chips that surfaced in late July. Until this week, the administration had not stated its position on Apple’s exploration of Chinese memory chips on the record.