US lawmakers seek tighter curb on Chinese memory chips

US Reps. John Moolenaar and George Whitesides are pressing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to bar US buyers from purchasing memory chips from China’s YMTC and CXMT. The request targets a potential short-term supply outlet for PC and server makers as DRAM and NAND prices rise, while also expanding the practical reach of existing China chip restrictions.

The lawmakers, Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican, and Whitesides, a California Democrat, made the request in a letter to Lutnick that was made public Thursday. They argued that US purchases from the two Chinese vendors would weaken Western memory suppliers and help subsidize China’s People’s Liberation Army.

What the lawmakers want

Moolenaar and Whitesides asked the Trump administration to use an executive order or agency directive to prohibit US persons and US-incorporated companies from buying memory components from YMTC, CXMT, or any company on the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List or the Defense Department’s Section 1260H list.

The request would close a gap in the current regime. US export controls restrict the transfer of American technology, including chipmaking equipment, to listed companies. They do not, by themselves, stop US companies from buying chips made by those companies.

CXMT is listed by the Defense Department as a Chinese Military Company under Section 1260H. YMTC is on the BIS Entity List, which subjects it to US export restrictions. The lawmakers want procurement restrictions to sit on top of those controls.

Why memory is the pressure point

YMTC and CXMT were both founded in 2016 and remain newer entrants compared with Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix. CXMT makes DRAM, used in PCs, smartphones and servers. YMTC makes NAND flash, used in storage products.

The two Chinese companies have historically trailed US and South Korean memory leaders. Their appeal now is price and supply. Memory is closer to a commodity than logic chips such as CPUs and GPUs because products are made to common specifications, which makes supplier substitution easier for OEMs when qualification requirements are met.

Amid the memory crunch, large PC makers including Apple, Dell and HP have reportedly begun qualifying YMTC and CXMT components for use in their products. The Financial Times reported late last month that Apple asked the Trump administration for approval before engaging with either Chinese supplier, underscoring the compliance risk even where purchases are not formally banned.

Moolenaar and Whitesides argue that Chinese state support could let YMTC and CXMT sell memory at prices that pressure average selling prices across the sector, potentially making production less profitable for US and allied vendors. Their position is that lower near-term prices would come at the cost of long-term dependence on subsidized Chinese supply.

Capacity will not arrive quickly

The alternative the lawmakers point to is expanded manufacturing capacity outside China. Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix are working to add capacity, but new wafer fabs often take four years or more to reach volume production. Memory prices are expected to stay elevated through at least 2028.

That timing is the core tension for hardware companies. A procurement ban would reduce access to a possible relief valve before new capacity comes online. For Western memory suppliers, it would protect a period of high pricing and tight supply from a new Chinese competitive threat. The letter itself does not change policy, but it gives the administration a clear route to turn export-control designations into a buyer-side ban.

This story draws on original reporting from The Register.