US lawmakers call for ban on Chinese memory chips

U.S. legislators, led by Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat George Whitesides, have urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to prohibit American companies from buying memory chips made by Chinese firms CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) and YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies). The lawmakers argue that reliance on these components poses an "unacceptable risk" to national security, economic stability, and the AI‑related supply chain, especially amid a global DRAM shortage. Their letter seeks to expand existing export controls to block Chinese memory chips from entering Western products and calls for coordinated action with allies such as Japan, South Korea and the European Union. The request follows reports that Apple and other U.S. tech firms have sought Chinese memory chips to meet AI‑driven demand, which the legislators view as a strategic vulnerability that could enable the Chinese Communist Party to dominate critical markets.