Apple is seeking approval from the Trump administration to use Chinese-made memory semiconductors in products sold outside the United States, setting up a lobbying fight with Micron Technology, America's only major domestic memory chip producer. The global memory market is dominated by South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix alongside Micron, meaning Apple has limited alternatives when supply tightens and prices rise.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has held multiple meetings with senior Trump administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as the company pushes for permission to source memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies. The two companies, known as CXMT and YMTC, are based in China and have been rapidly expanding their DRAM and NAND flash capabilities, narrowing the technology gap with established Korean and American rivals.

Apple and Micron $MU are now in a major lobbying fight over memory chips, according to WSJ. $AAPL is pressing the White House to allow it to use chips from China's CXMT and YMTC in products sold outside the U.S., arguing that it would ease the global shortage and lower costs.… pic.twitter.com/yln2yoDWki — Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) July 25, 2026

Apple's case centers on global memory-chip supply constraints and consumer pricing. The company, which consumes enormous volumes of NAND flash and DRAM across iPhones, iPads, and Macs, argues that using Chinese components in devices distributed internationally, rather than in the U.S. market, would help ease shortages and reduce costs.

Micron is opposing the request. Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra has warned government officials that allowing major U.S. technology companies to buy from Chinese memory manufacturers, even for products sold abroad, could weaken the domestic semiconductor industry. Micron has compared the risk to the decline of U.S. steel and other manufacturing sectors, where competition from China contributed to broad industrial erosion.

The dispute comes as memory semiconductor prices have risen sharply. According to TechInsights data cited in the source report, memory chip costs have multiplied by four over the past year. The increase has been driven largely by demand from artificial intelligence data centers, which use large volumes of advanced memory—particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-density DDR5 modules—and pay higher prices for cutting-edge components.

That AI-related demand has reduced supply available for other sectors, including smartphones, automotive systems and medical equipment. The shortage has also changed Apple's traditional leverage in negotiations with semiconductor suppliers, as memory makers prioritize higher-margin AI customers over volume consumer-electronics orders.

Apple has accused Micron of using the tight supply environment to generate excessive profits. The company points to Micron's gross profit margins, which now exceed 80%, as evidence of what it describes as unreasonable pricing. Apple also alleges that Micron is focusing production expansion on AI customers rather than consumer electronics manufacturers.

Micron rejects those claims. The company says price increases reflect broader market conditions rather than simple memory-chip costs, and it has emphasized its commitment to invest $250 billion in expanding manufacturing infrastructure in the United States.

National security concerns add another layer to the decision facing the White House. YMTC is on the U.S. Entity List, a restrictive trade designation, and the Pentagon has classified both CXMT and YMTC as Chinese military-affiliated companies. The Biden administration placed YMTC on the Entity List in December 2022, restricting its access to advanced chipmaking tools, and restrictions on Chinese semiconductor firms have tightened steadily across both administrations.

Michael Kratsios, the White House technology adviser, told members of Congress this week that U.S. companies should avoid commercial relationships with firms designated on the Entity List.

Apple pursued a similar arrangement with YMTC in 2022 but abandoned the effort after political backlash. At the time, then-Senator Marco Rubio warned that Apple was "playing with fire." Rubio is now Secretary of State and remains involved in current discussions.

President Trump has publicly praised both Apple and Micron for their domestic investment commitments, but he has not announced a position on Apple's request. The decision also comes during continuing trade negotiations with China, adding another strategic consideration to the administration's review. The outcome is likely to signal how broadly the administration will interpret its own export restrictions—whether national-security designations will apply only to U.S.-bound products or extend to American companies' global supply chains.