One of Apple’s proposed solutions for the memory shortage was to buy RAM from two Chinese companies, CXMT and YMTC. While not technically banned, this conflicted with US interests, risking Pentagon blacklist issues and political backlash. Now, two developments make it even less likely.

First, Representatives John Moolenaar and George Whitesides urged the Commerce Department to add CXMT to the entity list, potentially banning US purchases. Second, even if that doesn't happen, CXMT has maxed out production capacity this year, leaving little room for new international clients like Apple.

I previously described this as an unlikely solution; I’m now calling it exceedingly so.