Apple has been asking Washington since June for clearance to use CXMT DRAM, seeking to widen supply as memory prices squeeze manufacturing costs. CXMT sits on a Pentagon list, so separate approval is required.

Inside the administration the question has been handled as a trade bargaining chip — one of the conciliatory gestures available to offer Beijing ahead of the summit.

Opposition is explicit. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Aug. 14 that it would be undesirable for 'great American companies' to use Chinese-made memory. In July a bipartisan group of senators wrote to Apple discouraging the move.

For Korea's chipmakers this is immediate. If Apple adopts Chinese DRAM, incumbent suppliers' volumes and pricing power are affected. The scope of any approval and the product lines covered are undecided, so the size of the effect is hard to judge.

This reporting describes deliberation, not a decision. Confirmed: Apple's request, the commerce secretary's objection, and the senators' letter.