US Senators Press Apple to Abandon Chinese Memory Chips

Washington just placed a hard-to-ignore question on Apple’s desk. No fluff. No politeness. Two dozen senators from both parties want a straight answer.

In a letter reviewed by Bloomberg, a bipartisan group led by Jim Banks and Chuck Schumer demanded that CEO Tim Cook formally commit by August 21 that Apple will not use memory chips made by Chinese manufacturers CXMT and YMTC. Other signatories include Andy Kim, Jeanne Shaheen, Mike Crapo and Pete Ricketts. The ask is simple on its face: stop the plan to buy memory from those suppliers. The implications are anything but simple.

Why the alarm? These two Chinese firms have been linked by US defense authorities to entities on a list of companies tied to China’s military. Senators warn that approving those chips for Apple products would make the world’s most valuable consumer electronics company reliant on suppliers many in Washington consider risky.

Apple’s interest in CXMT and YMTC is driven by a shortage of memory chips. Demand exploded alongside AI workloads. Short supply. Rising prices. In June, Cupertino raised costs on Macs, iPads, smart home devices and even the Vision Pro headset — a signal that memory scarcity is already biting. Faced with that pressure, Apple explored alternative sources, including those two Chinese makers.

Not everyone is neutral. Micron, one of Apple’s existing suppliers, lobbied the White House to oppose any deal. The company argued a purchase agreement would harm domestic memory manufacturers and tilt markets. Senators echoed that worry, saying approval at Apple could normalize those chips across the industry — because once a component is validated for Apple, global production decisions tend to follow.

Senators also dismissed Apple’s proposed mitigation: limit the use of Chinese memory to devices sold only in China. Their point: approvals for manufacturing components rarely stay confined to one market. Supply chains are fluid. Manufacturing decisions ripple. What starts as a local workaround can become global exposure.

Beyond national security, there’s an economic angle. Lawmakers warned that endorsing CXMT and YMTC could undercut billions in planned investments by domestic and foreign firms building memory fabs in states like Indiana, Idaho, New York and Virginia. Jobs and capital investment hang in the balance.

The letter pushes for transparency. Senators asked Apple to disclose how it evaluated the chips, what technical data — if any — was shared with CXMT and YMTC, and whether those transfers might trigger export controls requiring Commerce Department authorization. They also pressed Apple on whether it tried to secure priority allocations from American or South Korean suppliers instead.

Apple has not publicly responded; the company has declined comment to media so far. The request tightens political screws on a company already scrambling for reliable memory supply. The clock is short. The stakes are high. How Apple answers could reshape supply chains and the technology landscape at the same time.