Democrat Says Trump Worsens Chip Shortage as Apple Eyes CXMT

The rapid expansion of AI data centers has driven demand for high-bandwidth memory, prompting suppliers to prioritize higher-margin products and squeezing the DRAM and storage chips used in consumer electronics. Apple raised MacBook prices by $100 to $300 and iPad prices by $100 to $200 on June 25 as component costs climbed. Its consideration of memory chips from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, a company on a Pentagon blacklist, underscores how the shortage is colliding with U.S.-China security policy.

Ro Khanna, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a July 22 letter that the Trump administration was delaying or reconsidering CHIPS and Science Act awards to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. He said the policy was hindering U.S. capacity expansion and raising electronics prices. Khanna also sought clarity on whether Washington would permit companies such as Apple to source from CXMT, and requested a Commerce Department response by August 15.