AAPL's China Memory Chip Plans Draw National Security Scrutiny — Lawmakers Say Every Memory Chip Purchase Will Subsidize PLA

• In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Moolenaar and Rep. George Whitesides said Apple and other U.S. technology companies should not source memory chips from CXMT or YMTC.
• The lawmakers argued that every purchase from the Chinese firms would subsidize China's military-industrial base and deepen U.S. reliance on Beijing for a critical component of AI infrastructure.
• The lawmakers are now urging the Commerce Department to place CXMT on its Entity List, expand restrictions on YMTC, and prohibit U.S. firms from sourcing AI-related memory chips from companies on either blacklist.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is facing fresh scrutiny in Washington after the top Republican on the House Select Committee on China urged the Trump administration to block U.S. companies from buying memory chips from Chinese manufacturers.

According to a Financial Times report citing the letter, Rep. John Moolenaar urged the Trump administration to block U.S. companies from buying memory chips from Chinese manufacturers, arguing that dependence on Chinese memory producers would create “an unacceptable risk for U.S. national security, economic security and supply chain security.”

Apple shares were up nearly 0.3% in Thursday’s pre-market trade.

Why Moolenaar Is Concerned

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Moolenaar and Rep. George Whitesides said Apple and other U.S. technology companies should not source memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) or Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).

“Every memory purchase by a U.S. company will directly subsidize the People’s Liberation Army’s development of this critical dual-use technology,” the letter stated.

What AAPL Is Seeking

The letter follows reports that Apple has been seeking approval from the Trump administration to buy memory chips from CXMT amid a global DRAM shortage fueled by booming AI infrastructure demand.

While CXMT was added to the Pentagon's list of Chinese Military Companies earlier this year, that designation does not prohibit U.S. companies from doing business with the chipmaker.

The lawmakers are now urging the Commerce Department to place CXMT on its Entity List, expand restrictions on YMTC, and prohibit U.S. firms from sourcing AI-related memory chips from companies on either blacklist.

“We are alarmed that Apple and other U.S. tech companies seek to purchase memory from Chinese semiconductor manufacturers, including those with ties to the Chinese military,” the lawmakers stated in the letter.

Lawmakers Warn Of Long-Term AI Supply Chain Risks

Beyond national security concerns, the lawmakers argued that growing reliance on Chinese memory suppliers could weaken chipmakers, including Micron Technology Inc. (MU), Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY).

They warned that Chinese state-backed manufacturers could use subsidized pricing to gain market share during the current memory shortage, discouraging investment in new Western manufacturing capacity and creating long-term dependence on China for a key component used in AI systems, data centers and other critical infrastructure.

CXMT is China's leading DRAM manufacturer, producing memory chips used in smartphones, PCs, servers and AI applications. While the company has not publicly disclosed its full customer base, its products are primarily sold in the domestic market.

What Retail Traders Think Of AAPL Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Apple trended in the ‘bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels at the time of writing.

AAPL stock is up 20% year-to-date and 57% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 21% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 29%.

The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) is up 113% during this period, while the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (VTI) is up 22%.

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