“애플, 중국 메모리 안 쓴다고 서약하라”…미국 상원의원들 압박 커져

As Senate Republicans and Democrats pressure Apple over its use of Chinese-made memory chips, the tech giant faces increasing scrutiny. On July 17, seven Republican senators, including Jamie Raskin and Tom Schatz, wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, demanding that the company pledge not to use memory chips produced by China-based companies CXMT and YMTC in any product.

Senators also requested that Apple respond to related inquiries by July 21. As of now, Apple has not officially responded to the Senate request. The letter asks Apple to confirm whether it has requested increased supply, allocation, or priority from U.S. and allied memory companies, as well as the results of its quality control process for Chinese memory chips.

The senators sought answers on whether China has threatened or restricted supply, and the potential impact of China's government limiting or blocking supply. Apple's increasing demand for artificial intelligence server memory is driving up the price by 55-60% in the second half of this year, prompting Apple to raise the price of its MacBook and iPad in June last year.

Cook reportedly suggested in late June that Apple use Chinese-made memory chips only for products sold in China. Senators expressed concerns that Apple may only use chips from Chinese companies for Chinese-sold products. The reason is that parts that pass quality checks can be applied globally. In a speech at an advanced manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, Secretary of Commerce Rick Loretta said on July 13, "It is not desirable for excellent American companies to use Chinese memory."

He also made it clear that the Trump administration does not support this approach, according to The Wall Street Journal. Both CXMT and YMTC are listed as "Chinese military enterprises" on the U.S. Department of Defense's sanctioned list. The two companies were added to the Department of Commerce's export control list of Chinese entities in February 2022.

Under the Defense Production Act, U.S. federal agencies are prohibited from procuring products containing semiconductor chips from these companies starting December 2027.