The RAM price crisis is pushing hardware manufacturers to pursue deals with Chinese companies, against the wishes of the US government. Apple is one of those reportedly exploring such deals.
“Apple is in negotiations to purchase chips from Chinese semiconductor makers ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. (CMTI) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) to help reduce the impact of a global memory shortage,” , so this is better handled before he steps down as CEO.”
Beyond the potential political ramifications, any deal would have immediate implications for enterprise IT buyers.
“CIOs should focus on the risk that this strategy could introduce. Will Apple be able to thoroughly assess those chips to completely rule out the possibility of trojan horses, backdoors, and hidden functionality such as dead man switches?” asked in 2018, in 2012, to name a few.”
On the naughty list?
This issue gets complicated based on what the US government ultimately does. The two Chinese manufacturers figure on the Pentagon’s so-called , subjecting them to export licensing requirements, or make them the subject of a , principal consultant for Digital 520, said, “Currently, CXMT is only on the Pentagon’s 1260H list, which doesn’t legally bar transactions. Inclusion in the Commerce Department Entity List placement would, which is what Apple is seeking to prevent here.”
He suggested Apple might try to limit blowback by only using the Chinese chips in Apple devices sold in China.
If the government does intensify restrictions and if components from YMTC or CXMT “show up in a customer contract you already signed, a standard-issue device becomes a procurement compliance question. Fleet inventory in MDM will need to track memory sourcing, not just device model. That is a capability most enterprises do not have today,” Kenney said. “The real question for a CIO is not whether Washington pushes back on Apple, but whether their customers will push back for shipping Apple.”
Other vendors use Chinese RAM already
“Lenovo has sourced from Chinese memory makers for years,” as have other manufacturers, Kenney said. “The difference is that they are not lobbying the Treasury Secretary about it.”
Geopolitical analyst .
SOCIAL SHARE CARD GENERATOR