Apple drops China’s YMTC as memory chip supplier amid US trade sanctions: Nikkei
- The suspension comes as the state-owned chip maker was set to become one of the NAND flash memory chip suppliers for Apple’s iPhones
- YMTC was added by Apple to its list of NAND flash suppliers for the iPhone 14 in September, according to report
Apple has suspended plans to use memory chips made by China’s largest memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), after the company became the latest target of US trade sanctions on the country’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry, according to a Nikkei Asia report on Monday.
The suspension comes as the state-owned chip maker was set to become one of the NAND flash memory chip suppliers for iPhones this year. YMTC’s 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory had already completed the months-long verification process of the US tech giant for use in iPhones, according to the report, which cited multiple sources.
Apple and YMTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
If confirmed, the development would be a fresh blow for China’s top memory chip maker after it was put on a trade watch list by Washington.
The Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency under the US Department of Commerce, announced new export controls for China’s advanced semiconductor industry on October 7. These include restrictions on the involvement of “US persons” in developing chip facilities in China, and on equipment and materials shipped to Chinese wafer fabs that produce NAND flash memory chips with 128 layers or more.