Multiple US Senators Urge Apple to Halt Procurement of Chinese Memory Chips

According to a Bloomberg report on the 30th (Thursday), multiple US senators sent a joint letter to Apple (AAPL-US) CEO Tim Cook, stating that Apple should not use memory chips produced by ChangXin Technology (688825-CN) and Yangtze Memory in its products, even if such products are sold exclusively in the Chinese market.

They emphasized that ChangXin Technology and Yangtze Memory have been included in the recently updated 'Chinese Military Companies List' by the US Department of Defense.

The senators argued that approving and using Chinese-made chips in Apple products would pose a national security risk, and they demanded that Apple make a clear commitment by August 21 not to procure chips from these two companies.

The lawmakers signing the letter are primarily from states such as New York, Indiana, and Idaho—regions where memory giants Micron Technology (MU-US) and South Korea's SK Hynix are investing billions of dollars to expand production capacity. The influx of Chinese memory chips could jeopardize these projects.

Affected by insufficient production capacity, tight supply, and continuously soaring prices, Apple has been seeking to source memory chips from China.

The UK's Financial Times reported on June 27 that Apple is lobbying the US government to gain approval for purchasing chips from ChangXin Technology, having already contacted the US Department of Commerce.

On July 8, the Financial Times reported again that Apple has begun testing DRAM chips produced by ChangXin Technology, with plans to use them in products sold in the Chinese market.

Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is actively lobbying to procure Chinese chips to alleviate cost pressures, while Micron Technology is vigorously lobbying to block such moves.

This 'lobbying battle' may force the US government to choose between two economic goals: enabling lower prices for American consumers and boosting domestic semiconductor production to reduce reliance on other countries.