Apple has asked the Trump administration for permission to buy memory chips from the Chinese memory supplier CXMT, according to The Financial Times (a subscription is required to read the article).
The tech giant wants the deal to ease pressure on rising semiconductor prices. The FT Apple contacted the commerce department a month ago before recently expanding its lobbying efforts to gain clearance.
Apple has reportedly been lobbying officials in the commerce department and other parts of the Trump administration for a green light to buy chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc., which is on the Pentagon’s 1260H list of companies with alleged connections to the Chinese military, the newspaper reported, citing six people familiar with the matter.
While Apple isn’t barred from using CXMT as a supplier, the iPhone maker is seeking guarantees CXMT won’t be added to the US’s so-called Entity List that would impose stiff licensing restrictions as Washington and Beijing play hardball over trade and rare earths, the FT said.
The Pentagon, which had previously removed CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. from the 1260H list, restored the two memory chipmakers in its newest version. While the list carries few immediate legal repercussions, it’s widely considered a red flag to investors that can precede more punitive trade restrictions, notes Fortune.
Apple has lost $265 billion off its market cap the day it announced price hikes on MacBooks and iPads. CEO Tim Cook even admitted he’d never seen anything like this in his 40+ year stint.
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Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today