A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pressuring Apple to abandon its pursuit of Chinese memory chips. In a new letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, lawmakers warned that buying components from the two blacklisted suppliers could tie Cupertino to China’s military.
Apple is looking for a cheaper source of memory amid a global shortage. But the lawmakers say sourcing them from China is a step too far.
Why Apple is eyeing Chinese memory chips
What began as an effort to ease an AI-driven component shortage has escalated into a geopolitical showdown, with U.S. senators warning that sourcing memory from blacklisted Chinese suppliers could compromise national security and deepen America’s dependence on Beijing-linked technology. The dispute underscores a new reality for Apple: In the age of AI, every hardware decision is also a political one. And even the chips hidden inside an iPhone can become a flashpoint in the U.S.-China tech rivalry.
Apple has reportedly been negotiating with two Chinese companies, ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, to address the brutal global memory shortage that’s driving up costs across the industry. Surging demand for AI chips has squeezed supplies of RAM and storage components. This forced Apple to raise prices on Macs, iPads, Vision Pro and other devices in June.
The problem is, both companies are on the Pentagon’s list of entities believed to support China’s military buildup.
In the Wednesday letter, the lawmakers, led by Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks and New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer, call Apple’s plan shortsighted. The lawmakers argue that the deal would make the world’s most valuable company dependent on one or more suppliers that the U.S. has formally flagged for ties to the Chinese military.
“Using Chinese-made chips produced by companies allied with the Chinese Communist Party regime undermines American manufacturing and national security,” Schumer said Thursday in a press release about the letter
Other signers include Democrats Andy Kim and Jeanne Shaheen along with Republicans Mike Crapo and Pete Ricketts. (Read the full text of the letter.)
China-only limits may not hold, senators warn
Apple did not break any laws by talking to the two Chinese companies, and it doesn’t need government permission to buy chips. But it has reportedly been seeking a nod from the Trump administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Apple planned to limit ChangXin Memory Technologies chips to devices sold in China, but senators aren’t buying that promise. Once a part qualifies for Apple’s production line, they wrote, expanding it worldwide becomes a single procurement decision.
The lawmakers also pushed back on the idea that Chinese chips would save Apple money. They cited analysis showing ChangXin Memory Technologies’ pricing sometimes runs higher than rival suppliers, and a lower price wouldn’t offset the security risk involved.
Defending U.S. chip production
Many of the senators who signed the letter represent states with major chip investments, including from Micron and SK Hynix.
“As the most demanding component buyer in the world, a decision by Apple to procure Chinese memory chips would carry weight well beyond the company’s own purchase orders,” the lawmakers wrote. “This validation would function as a signal that other buyers follow. That signal would arrive just as workers in Indiana, Idaho, New York, and Virginia carry out the largest expansion of domestic memory production in a generation.”
Micron pledged $250 billion for projects in New York, Idaho and Virginia, intending to create 90,000 new jobs. SK Hynix, for its part, is investing around $4 billion in an Indiana packaging facility.
If cheaper Chinese memory floods the market, it could undercut those investments. Also, these projects depend on federal incentives to pencil out.
Apple previously tried sourcing memory from Yangtze Memory Technologies in 2022, but that effort collapsed after pushback from Washington. Yangtze Memory Technologies is also on the Commerce Department’s blacklist, which restricts controlled technology transfers to the Chinese company.
What the senators want from Apple
The senators want Apple to commit to dropping the plan by August 21. They also want more information. They’re asking what technical data Apple shared with ChangXin Memory Technologies during chip-qualification testing. Export rules usually require a Commerce Department license for that kind of transfer. And advanced Chinese chip factories are usually denied that license.
The timing adds weight to the standoff. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in September to discuss chip and rare-earth export controls.
For now, though, the ball remains in Apple’s court. The company has three weeks to decide whether it will rule out Chinese memory chips or risk a fight with lawmakers from both parties.
