Apple is quietly pressing the Trump administration for permission to buy memory chips from CXMT, a Chinese manufacturer that sits on a U.S. blacklist, according to the Financial Times.
The iPhone maker wants the administration to sign off on the purchases as a way to ease pressure from rising chip prices, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. Memory chips are a basic but essential component in phones and other devices, and their costs have been climbing.
There is a complication: CXMT is not just any supplier. According to Engadget, summarizing the Financial Times reporting, the company is linked to the Chinese military — part of why it landed on the U.S. blacklist in the first place. That status normally restricts American companies from doing business with it without government clearance, which is exactly what Apple is now seeking.
The reporting describes lobbying that is still in progress, not a deal that has been approved. It is not clear from the sources whether the Trump administration will grant the clearance Apple wants.
Why it matters: the request puts Apple at the intersection of two forces it usually tries to keep separate — its need for cheap, reliable components and Washington's effort to wall off Chinese firms tied to the military, showing how hard it is for even the world's most valuable companies to stay above U.S.-China tech tensions.