Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for clearance to purchase memory chips from CXMT, a Chinese company that the Pentagon has blacklisted due to alleged connections to the People’s Liberation Army, according to Financial Times. The iPhone maker contacted the commerce department a month ago and has since expanded its lobbying campaign to secure approval, hoping to ease the financial pressure created by skyrocketing component costs.
Less than a week before announcing price hikes, CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that “the situation has become unsustainable” and that price increases had become “unavoidable” amid surging memory and storage costs. Cook also said “everything needs to be on the table,” signaling Apple was exploring options to source chips from Chinese manufacturers if granted approval. Having now raised prices across much of its lineup, Apple is simultaneously pursuing a waiver that could have made those increases unnecessary.
The price increases were substantial as the MacBook Neo now starts at $699, up from $599, while MacBook Air begins at $1,299, up from $1,099. Across affected products the average price increase is $246.67. Apple products prices across the globe have gone up for different countries and regions. iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods pricing remained unchanged for now though, but this could change soon.
Apple is not technically barred from buying chips from CXMT or YMTC, another major Chinese memory chipmaker. The Pentagon, however, has placed both companies on its Chinese Military Company blacklist, formally known as the 1260H list, which identifies dozens of Chinese entities with alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army that the US government deems a threat to national security. Granting Apple’s request would require the Trump administration to either issue a specific exemption or remove the suppliers from the list entirely, both moves with significant national security implications.
The memory chip shortage stems largely from unprecedented demand for AI data center buildout at companies like OpenAI and Meta, which has consumed available supply globally. With Chinese companies holding significant manufacturing capacity, Apple has exhausted internal efforts to absorb rising component costs and now seeks an official pathway to cheaper sources. The administration must weigh Apple’s commercial interests against the stated security rationale for the blacklist.
Cook’s remarks to the Journal suggest Apple views Chinese suppliers as critical to resolving the cost crisis. The outcome of Apple’s lobbying effort remains unknown, but the gap between what Apple publicly communicates and what it pursues privately is now clear.
