The US government recently announced that it will be more sensitive to imports from Chinese technology companies. According to Nikkei Asia’s claim, Apple has suspended its plans for the Chinese company Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), which produces memory chips.
YMTC, China’s top memory chip maker, and 30 other Chinese organizations are on the list of companies that US officials cannot inspect. It is estimated that this move, which increases the tension with the Chinese government, will result in much harsher sanctions.
Apple will not use chips manufactured by YMTC
Apple planned to import YMTC’s NAND flash memory chips earlier this year, which is funded by the Chinese government. The company, which originally intended to use the chips only for iPhones sold in the Chinese market, abandoned the idea due to the embargo process.
According to the shared information, Apple was considering purchasing up to 40 percent of the chips required for all iPhones from YMTC. The company concentrated on different suppliers due to the pressure exerted by the US government.
The Biden administration’s extensive export controls to China are a bid to slow Beijing’s technological and military advances by cutting off the country’s supply from certain semiconductor chips made with US equipment anywhere in the world.
Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, while YMTC declined to comment. YMTC is also being investigated for violating Washington’s export controls by selling chips to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, which has been blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce.