Micron presses Trump to block Apple's China chip plan

A lobbying clash between two of America's biggest tech companies has landed on the Trump administration's desk. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that Micron is pushing officials to block Apple's push to source memory chips from Chinese suppliers ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), setting up a fight with direct consequences for US consumer prices and domestic chip production.

The controversy arose after Tim Cook's remarks at the end of last month calling for reconsideration of the US's restrictions against certain Chinese chip makers, which occurred just days before Apple hiked prices for some products due to memory shortages.

According to the report from the Journal, Cook, along with other executives at Apple, has lobbied officials, including the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, and the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, to use CXMT and YMTC chips for products sold abroad, not just in China.

Micron, the only major US memory chipmaker, has countered directly. Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra and other Micron executives have warned Lutnick and administration officials that allowing Chinese suppliers into the US tech supply chain, regardless of where products are ultimately sold, risks the kind of damage China previously inflicted on the American steel and manufacturing sectors, the Journal reported.

Micron has also argued that it can help ease the chip shortage itself by speeding up domestic plant construction and boosting US investment.

Both CXMT and YMTC have been marked as military companies of China by the Pentagon, and YMTC has also been listed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, but not in any way making it impossible for Apple to use their processors in its non-US products.

According to The Journal, the stalemate puts the administration in a position where it has to balance two competing objectives: affordable prices for the consumers versus robust semiconductor manufacturing at home.

The White House spokesman refused to give away what direction the government is taking in this regard, saying that the administration will work for economic relief "while safeguarding our national security".