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The top Democrat on the House China committee has blamed the Trump administration for rising consumer electronic prices, accusing it of undermining efforts to bring chip manufacturing to the US.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, California Democrat Ro Khanna said the White House was undermining efforts by the Biden administration to provide financial incentives to encourage Samsung and SK Hynix — the world’s biggest memory-chip makers along with Micron in the US — to build out chip manufacturing facilities in America.
“The Trump administration may have undermined this progress and, by extension, paved the groundwork for the surge in consumer electronics pricing we are experiencing,” Khanna wrote. “Recent reporting suggests the commerce department may have interfered in existing Chips and Science Act funding promised to Samsung and SK Hynix.”
Khanna also asked the Trump administration to clarify whether it would let US companies procure memory chips from Chinese chipmakers, including the blacklisted supplier CXMT, and how it would mitigate any economic and security risks.
Apple has been lobbying the administration for clearance to buy chips from CXMT amid a surge in global demand due to the AI boom. The surge has sparked a dramatic increase in chip prices that Apple blamed for its recent decision to raise the price of MacBooks and iPads by 20 per cent.
Khanna warned that the shortage of memory chips could have negative repercussions for US national security.
“If US or Korean firms are unable to meet American demand, it potentially could lead manufacturers of consumer electronics to turn to People’s Republic of China memory-chip makers for their supply, including CXMT,” Khanna said. “Needless to say, it is not in our nation’s interests to increase our dependency on PRC supply chains.”
The Pentagon has placed CXMT on a blacklist of companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military. CXMT denies having any connections.
While the move does not bar Apple and other US companies from buying chips from the company, it significantly raises the political risk — which is one of the reasons that Apple has lobbied the administration for clearance.
John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House China committee, recently told Lutnick in a letter seen by the FT that he was “alarmed” that Apple and other US companies were trying to buy memory chips from CXMT.
Apple increased prices for MacBooks and iPads last month by around 20 per cent, blaming rising memory chip costs caused by an unprecedented surge in demand from AI infrastructure builders. Other consumer tech companies like Dell and HP increased prices earlier this year.
Major US buyers are considering China’s CXMT as an alternative supplier to Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix. The Chinese national champion is rapidly expanding manufacturing capacity as it prepares to go public and break into the global market. This has elevated concern among officials and lawmakers in Washington about the risks for US national security.
Last month, Samsung and SK Hynix unveiled a $600bn plan to significantly increase manufacturing capacity in South Korea. Micron meanwhile boosted its planned US investment to $250bn over the next ten years.
Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix all received approval for manufacturing grants under the 2022 Chips and Science Act. The legislation created $49bn in grants, distributed based on hitting project milestones and designed to incentivise massive private investment in American chip manufacturing.
Trump was a fierce critic of the legislation, preferring to use tariffs to encourage investment. Lutnick last year said he was reviewing grants that seemed “overly generous.”
In his letter, Khanna asked for clarity on which funding agreements could be delayed or withheld.
The commerce department did not respond to a request for comment.
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