US Lawmakers Push to Ban Purchases of CXMT and YMTC Chips
N.R. Finch
A bipartisan pair of US lawmakers wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanding a ban on American companies buying chips from CXMT and YMTC; this means the legislative door for Chinese memory chips entering Western supply chains is closing fast.
What exactly are the lawmakers demanding?
John Moolenaar (R), chair of the House Select Committee on China, joined by George Whitesides (D), wrote to Commerce Secretary Lutnick demanding a ban on US firms buying chips from any company on the "Chinese military company" list or the Entity List.
They also urged Lutnick to add CXMT to the Entity List and tighten restrictions on YMTC, which is already on it.
This means → the lawmakers want to upgrade the blacklist from a reputational warning to an actual purchasing prohibition — the current military-company designation does not directly block transactions.
Why is this surfacing now?
The immediate trigger: the Financial Times previously reported that Apple has been lobbying the Trump administration for permission to buy chips from CXMT.
The Pentagon has already placed CXMT on its "Chinese military companies" blacklist this year. The designation does not ban purchases outright, but it has sharply raised Apple's political risk.
In plain terms = Apple wants cheaper chips; lawmakers say every dollar spent is a subsidy to the PLA — the two forces have collided head-on.
Who are CXMT and YMTC?
CXMT (长鑫存储) focuses on DRAM — memory chips that hold data while your phone or PC is running. YMTC (长江存储) focuses on NAND — flash storage for files and photos. Both were created to reduce China's dependence on foreign suppliers.
Under existing US equipment-export controls, neither company has caught up with Samsung, SK Hynix, or Micron in manufacturing technology. They mostly serve the Chinese domestic market today.
This means → they are not yet top-tier, but the global AI boom has tightened memory-chip supply worldwide, and both companies' market presence is rising fast.
Why drag allies into this?
The letter calls on the US to coordinate with Japan, South Korea, and the EU to stop CXMT and YMTC from "exploiting a global memory-chip shortage to penetrate allied supply chains."
The lawmakers' logic: if only the US restricts purchases, allies can still buy Chinese chips → Chinese makers keep earning revenue and market share → the US unilateral ban is diluted.
This reflects a deeper concern: analysts expect CXMT and YMTC to materially affect global memory-chip pricing within the next few years — the US alone cannot plug the gap.
Can this ban actually happen?
The Trump administration had been preparing to add CXMT to the Entity List but shelved the move over fears it would disrupt trade talks with China.
The lawmakers warn that allowing US purchases would cause a "permanent decline in Western memory-chip manufacturing capacity" and create "strategic dependence" on China at a time when AI is increasingly vital to military and economic power.
In plain terms = this is a binary choice — trade-negotiation leverage versus national security — and the Trump administration can pick only one. The outcome will directly determine Apple's chip-sourcing path and whether Micron and other Western makers can hold their market share.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.