Apple begs Trump to buy RAM from blacklisted CXMT

Apple asks – Apple has petitioned the Trump administration for permission to buy Mac RAM chips from CXMT, a Chinese memory maker on the Pentagon-linked “1260H” blacklist—an attempt to ease pressure from a global memory crisis. The move could trigger legal and political con

Apple’s plea reached the Trump administration at a moment when the global memory crisis is squeezing prices and forcing painful choices behind the scenes. The company is asking for permission to buy Mac RAM chips from a Chinese supplier it cannot freely use under current security restrictions.

Apple has petitioned the administration to allow purchases from CXMT. a memory chip maker on the Chinese Military Company Blacklist. also known as the 1260H list. That list is compiled from firms the Pentagon believes have links to the People’s Liberation Army. raising national-security concerns for U.S. procurement.

The pressure driving the request is straightforward: memory chips are still hard to source at stable costs. and Apple is feeling the impact. In the tech industry. manufacturers have struggled to keep prices low as demand for memory chips has continued to run hot. Apple. like others. has been passing some of that cost burden downstream to consumers—yet it is now trying to find a path around the shortage.

Six people familiar with the matter say Apple has reached out to the Trump administration and also contacted the Commerce Department more than a month ago, alongside other players in Washington, to seek a green light.

CXMT’s presence on the 1260H blacklist doesn’t automatically forbid Apple from buying from it. But it creates a knot of consequences that could still slam the brakes on Apple’s broader sales—especially to the U.S. government.

Under Defense Department rules, the Defense Department is not able to make agreements with companies on the list. It also cannot use products and services from third parties that rely on components from those firms. If Apple proceeded and the Defense Department treated CXMT-linked components as disqualifying. Apple could lose sales connected to that part of the U.S. government market.

That risk is made sharper by the fact that CXMT is not only tied to the 1260H list. In 2025, the Department of Commerce indicated it wanted to place CXMT among several Chinese companies on the “Entity List,” a step that would block trade completely.

At the time, the White House told the Commerce Department to hold off from adding them to the Entity List. The delay came while the administration was negotiating with China to try to end the trade war.

CXMT isn’t on the Entity List today. But approval for Apple to buy could be temporary in the way these decisions often are—because the Entity List could still change later. That means even if Apple secures permission now, a new designation could disrupt supplies again.

There is also the reputational issue, and it would arrive immediately rather than later. If Apple is seen as working around security restrictions to ease memory costs, the association with CXMT could become a political liability.

John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House China Committee, has already signaled the kind of backlash Apple may face. For him, any deal would be a “grave mistake.” He argues it would help China succeed in dominating critical supply chains and increase U.S. tech industry dependence on China.

The fear among lawmakers is not new to Apple. The company previously faced similar pressure in 2022 when it considered sourcing memory chips from YMTC for iPhones intended to be sold in China. At the time. Marco Rubio—the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee—warned Apple was “playing with fire.” Rubio also said Apple would face extreme scrutiny from the U.S. government, even though the chips were discussed for iPhones sold outside the United States.

Apple’s challenge now isn’t only commercial. The company has a duty to customers and a responsibility to shareholders to keep spending from being wasted. and in a world dealing with the same memory pressures. finding another supplier is a logical move. Yet the obstacle described in this situation is not the price of chips—it’s keeping the United States government on-side.

With the political climate as it is, that may be the hardest part. Even Tim Cook’s years of relationship groundwork can’t erase the reality that this kind of request lands in Washington as a test of loyalty to security lines, not just a procurement problem.

If Apple’s petition succeeds, it may still pay for it—just not in the form of RAM costs. If it fails, the company is still left with the same memory squeeze, and consumers would feel it either way.

Apple Trump administration CXMT RAM chips Mac RAM 1260H blacklist U.S. government procurement Commerce Department Entity List Tim Cook Marco Rubio John Moolenaar memory crisis cybersecurity and national security