Micron is lobbying the US government to restrict Chinese memory suppliers, framing advanced memory as a strategic technology critical for national security, similar to advanced logic semiconductors. This stance directly opposes Apple's argument for diversifying its supply chain with Chinese memory to lower component costs for consumer products sold outside the US. The debate underscores a fundamental shift in memory economics, where AI infrastructure spending has made HBM the highest-margin product, giving suppliers pricing power over traditional large buyers like Apple.
Memory, especially HBM, is now a strategic bottleneck for AI infrastructure, shifting pricing power from consumer electronics buyers to suppliers like Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung.