US senators urge Apple to abandon Chinese memory chip plans

A bipartisan group of United States senators has formally urged Apple to abandon plans to source memory chips from Chinese manufacturers. The letter, led by Republican Jim Banks and Democrat Chuck Schumer, demands that chief executive Tim Cook reject components from ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies.

This intervention exposes the severe constraints facing global technology giants as they navigate escalating geopolitical tensions and component shortages. For European investors and markets, the dispute underscores how Washington’s national security priorities can abruptly disrupt the supply chain strategies of the world’s most valuable companies. Apple recently became only the second company to reach a $5tn valuation, yet it remains highly vulnerable to political pressure.

Apple is exploring cheaper Chinese memory to ease a severe shortage driven by unprecedented demand from artificial intelligence chipmakers like Nvidia. In June, the company raised prices across its Macs, iPads, home devices and the Vision Pro, directly blaming the component deficit. The business has spent months lobbying Washington for clearance and has been testing the chips for devices sold exclusively in China.

Lawmakers argue this strategy is fundamentally flawed because both suppliers sit on a recently updated Pentagon list of firms believed to support the Chinese military. YMTC is also currently on a US Commerce Department trade blacklist. “This short-sighted move would be a mistake,” the senators wrote, warning it would create a dangerous reliance on a formally designated adversary.

Apple’s pitch relies on restricting the Chinese memory to its domestic Chinese market. The senators dismissed this safeguard entirely. They noted that once a part clears qualification, extending it globally is “a single procurement decision away.”

The political push is also heavily influenced by domestic economic interests within the United States. Many signatories represent states where Micron and SK Hynix are investing heavily in new memory plants, with Micron alone planning $250bn across New York, Idaho and Virginia. Lawmakers fear that cheap Chinese imports could easily undercut these Chips Act-backed projects.

The senators have demanded that Apple commit by 21 August to keep the Chinese memory out of its products entirely. Apple did not immediately comment on the letter. The standoff arrives at a delicate moment, just weeks before a planned summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping where chip export controls will be a central agenda item.