RAM from China: US senators want to stop Apple from buying
With Democratic Senator Schumer as leader, a group of politicians from both parties has joined forces. They do not want Apple to buy from CXMT.
US flag in front of the Capitol in Washington.
(Image: Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock.com)
Apple currently has a massive problem with DRAMs. During the announcement of the latest quarterly figures to analysts on Thursday night, CEO Tim Cook once again emphasized that there are currently only three suppliers for this and that price increases are expected again in the current quarter. Apple is therefore looking for other manufacturers – including in China. However, buying memory chips from the local provider CXMT will be difficult: The US government has sanctioned the company because it also supplies the Chinese military. And attempts to convince the US government to change this will be difficult. A group of US senators has now directly contacted Apple by letter to prevent Apple from purchasing DRAMs there.
Complete rejection of Apple's attempts
The letter was drafted by the powerful Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer from New York, but was signed not only by him and other Democratic senators, but also by several Republicans. It mentions not only CXMT with its DRAM chips, but also another Chinese company: YMTC, which could supply NAND modules for Apple, which have also become massively more expensive.
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The letter is addressed directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook. It expresses concern about serious reports that Apple has begun testing DRAM from CXMT and is trying to lobby the US government to be allowed to buy them. “This short-sighted move would be a mistake, and it would ensure the world's most valuable consumer-electronics company grows dependent on critical supplies from a firm the United States government has formally designated as a Chinese military company.”
“Dangerous message” to other US companies
Schumer emphasized that efforts are currently underway in the US, including in Central New York and other parts of the country, to build “the largest expansion of domestic memory chip production in a generation”. Apple should buy “Made in America”. He himself advocated for this as part of the legislation, according to Schumer. The problem: This capacity is not available quickly. The letter further states that Schumer himself has warned “for a long time” about CXMT and YMTC – “and other companies supported by the Communist Party of China”. Integrating Chinese chips into its supply chain would send a “dangerous message” to other American companies that they should also acquire China chips.
Currently, Apple can only buy DRAM modules for iPhones, Macs, and the like from the South Korean companies SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, as well as the American company Micron. Given that AI companies via Nvidia are willing to pay almost any price for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI chips, the company lacks its usual leverage: to push down prices for RAM and NAND modules due to its large orders.
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