**[Apple and Micron Clash Over Chinese Memory Chips, Trump Faces Conflict Between Supply Chain and Price Reduction Goals]** BlockBeats News, July 25 — According to a report by WSJ, Apple and Micron are engaged in intense lobbying over whether to allow Chinese memory chips into Apple's supply chain. The Trump administration faces a policy dilemma between lowering consumer electronics prices and promoting the localization of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The report states that Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives have recently proposed a plan to President Trump, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, suggesting the use of products from Chinese memory chip manufacturers ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC) in Apple products sold outside the U.S. Apple believes that introducing Chinese suppliers could help alleviate the global memory chip shortage and reduce consumer costs. However, Micron opposes the plan, arguing that allowing Chinese companies to supply chips to U.S. tech firms could weaken the domestic memory chip industry. Micron is currently the largest memory chip manufacturer in the U.S. Company executives have warned that Chinese firms could impact the U.S. semiconductor industry in a manner similar to the disruptions seen in the steel and manufacturing sectors. They advocate for addressing supply issues by accelerating the construction of domestic factories. Meanwhile, the surging demand for AI data centers has driven memory chip prices sharply higher, reportedly increasing severalfold over the past year, which has weakened Apple's bargaining power with suppliers. Apple has accused Micron of maintaining excessively high profit margins and insufficiently expanding production capacity. Micron, on the other hand, stated that it plans to invest $250 billion in the U.S. to expand memory chip production and emphasized the strategic importance of advanced memory technology for U.S. competitiveness. Analysts believe this dispute highlights the contradiction between two core goals of the Trump administration: reducing costs for American consumers and decreasing reliance on China's semiconductor supply chain while boosting domestic manufacturing capabilities. [Original Link]