# US lawmakers urge Trump administration to ban Chinese memory chips, citing national security risks > Source: > Published: 2026-07-16 10:09:05+00:00 # US lawmakers urge Trump administration to ban Chinese memory chips, citing national security risks Congressional leaders call Apple's reported lobbying for Chinese DRAM access a 'grave mistake' as AI-driven chip shortages complicate the picture Senior members of Congress are pressing the Trump administration to cut off US companies from Chinese memory chip suppliers, setting up a collision between national security hawks and some of the biggest names in American tech. The target list includes ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), both flagged on the Pentagon’s 1260H list of Chinese enterprises with military ties. The push comes as Apple has reportedly been lobbying for clearance to source DRAM components from CXMT, a move that lawmakers view as deeply counterproductive. ## Congress draws a line in the silicon House China Committee Chair John Moolenaar and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast have publicly characterized any sourcing from CXMT or YMTC as a “grave mistake.” Their argument is straightforward: buying memory chips from firms linked to China’s military apparatus undermines the administration’s broader strategy to secure domestic supply chains and maintain US dominance in artificial intelligence. This isn’t a new fight. Back in 2023, Rep. Mike Gallagher pushed for CXMT’s addition to the Commerce Department’s Entity List after China took retaliatory trade actions against Micron Technology, the Idaho-based memory chipmaker. That request didn’t gain enough traction at the time, but the pressure has only intensified since. As of June 2026, the Trump administration has postponed adding CXMT and other Chinese firms to the Entity List, with the delay tied to ongoing trade negotiations with Beijing. The Entity List matters because companies placed on it face severe restrictions on receiving US technology exports. For CXMT, landing on that list would effectively wall it off from key tools and partnerships needed to compete globally. For Apple, it would slam the door on a potentially cheaper supply of memory components. ## Why Apple is caught in the middle Apple’s interest in CXMT isn’t random. Enterprise SSD prices have surged through 2026, driven by AI-related demand for memory chips. That scarcity is pushing Apple to explore every available avenue, including Chinese suppliers whose pricing could undercut alternatives from Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Apple has reportedly been seeking assurances from the administration about CXMT’s regulatory status, essentially asking whether it’s safe to build supply chain relationships with the company or if restrictions are imminent. ## What this means for investors and the crypto-adjacent chip market If CXMT and YMTC are formally restricted, the already tight supply of memory chips gets even tighter. That means higher prices for enterprise-grade storage and DRAM, which flows downstream into everything from cloud computing costs to the economics of GPU-heavy crypto mining operations. For publicly traded semiconductor companies like Micron, a Chinese supplier ban would be a competitive windfall. Micron already suffered when China restricted its products in 2023, so watching a rival get Entity Listed would be a significant reversal. Investors in Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix could see tailwinds if Chinese competitors lose access to global markets. **Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our [Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).