Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the Trump administration does not want Apple (蘋果) buying memory chips from ChinaCITE:E1. Asked directly whether he had conveyed that position to Apple, Lutnick said he had "explicitly" done soCITE:E3. White House spokesman Kush Desai said bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States is a Trump administration priority, and that related policies have already brought hundreds of billions of dollars in investment to the sectorCITE:E11.
Apple is testing Chinese memory chips as an AI-driven shortage pushes prices higher across the industryCITE:E2. Demand from companies building AI data centers has created a shortage of computer memory, and rising costs for existing chips have forced Apple and other consumer electronics makers to raise product pricesCITE:E2. Sources say Apple has been testing memory chips made by China's CXMT (長鑫存儲) and YMTC (長江存儲), possibly to prepare for future use in products sold in ChinaCITE:E4. Apple Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan said on August 13 that given the scale of the supply shortage, Apple must consider all options, adding that memory is not a heavily customized component inside the iPhone — an indication Apple could turn to standard Chinese-made chipsCITE:E7.
US rules require an export license before American companies can share product information with CXMT or YMTC. Under current regulation, US firms must obtain a license before sharing product data with CXMT or YMTC, a requirement that applies if either Chinese chipmaker were to produce customized chips for AppleCITE:E6. Apple can still purchase off-the-shelf components from the two companies without triggering that licensing requirementCITE:E6.
Pressure on Apple is coming from Congress, the Commerce Department, and a rival US chipmaker simultaneously. In late July, senators from states including New York, Indiana, and Idaho — all states with memory makers that have pledged to expand operations — sent a joint letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook urging Apple not to work with Chinese memory manufacturersCITE:E12. Lutnick said Apple's supply chain "is built on cheap labor" and that the company now needs to build a supply chain based on advanced manufacturing, adding "can Apple do it? Of course they can."CITE:E10 Micron Technology, headquartered in Idaho, has separately asked the Trump administration not to allow Apple to use Chinese-made chips, arguing the move would harm domestic production and undercut the White House's push to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the USCITE:E8.
The Trump administration has already arranged for Intel (英特爾) to produce some chips for Apple as an alternative to Chinese suppliersCITE:E9. Apple has also committed to moving all cover glass production for iPhone and Apple Watch to the United StatesCITE:E9. Separately, COO Sabih Khan said Apple has committed tens of billions of dollars to manufacturing iPhone chips in the US and has increased Mac Mini assembly capacity in TexasCITE:E13.
HP and Acer have already adopted CXMT memory chips in devices sold outside the United StatesCITE:E5.
Apple's supply chain remains largely based in Asia even as pressure mounts to shift production to the US. Lutnick said he expects Apple to gradually bring more business back to the United States, but noted that the bulk of Apple's supply chain is still concentrated in Asia, and that the company continues working with contract manufacturers to build new iPhone assembly capacity in IndiaCITE:E14.
The administration's account and Apple's own statements point in different directions. Lutnick says Washington has "explicitly" warned Apple off Chinese memory chips and points to hundreds of billions of dollars in reshored semiconductor investment, Intel chip production, and US-based glass and Mac Mini manufacturing as evidence of progressCITE:E1CITE:E3CITE:E11CITE:E9CITE:E13. At the same time, Apple's own COO has said memory chips are not heavily customized — leaving room for standard Chinese components — while Apple continues testing CXMT and YMTC chips and keeps most of its supply chain in Asia, including new assembly capacity in IndiaCITE:E7CITE:E4CITE:E14. That gap is widened by a shortage that Apple itself says is severe enough to require considering "all options," even as senators and Micron push in the opposite directionCITE:E2CITE:E12CITE:E8.
No — sources say Apple has been testing chips from CXMT and YMTC, and COO Sabih Khan said memory is not heavily customized, suggesting Apple may still use standard Chinese-made chips<CITE:E4><CITE:E7>.
Yes — Apple can purchase off-the-shelf components from CXMT and YMTC without a license; a license is only required if the chipmakers produce customized chips for Apple<CITE:E6>.
Yes — HP and Acer have adopted CXMT memory chips in devices sold outside the United States<CITE:E5>.
NVIDIA is negotiating a direct investment of up to $3 billion in SoftBank's SB Energy, split into two $1.5 billion tranches, to help build an Ohio data center for OpenAI, while the three parties also discuss up to $100 billion in credit support for the project.
Taiwan's robo-advisory market held NT$19.034 billion in assets across 257,846 client accounts at 16 providers as of June 30, 2026, up 36.3% year-on-year, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC, 金管會) said, with one more bank's application still under review.<CITE:E1>
The TAIEX closed at 45,811.01 on August 16, up 1,585.10 points, or 3.58%, for the week<CITE:E1>. SinoPac Securities Investment Consulting said cloud service providers' AI investment pace remains unshaken despite negative free cash flow<CITE:E3>, while E.SUN Securities Investment Trust's Du Hsin-pei projected 2026 profit growth of 42% overall and 53% for AI-related stocks<CITE:E7>. Both firms flagged inflation and supply-chain risks ahead<CITE:E4><CITE:E8>.