What Trump least wants to see is consumers' wallets getting hit again, but policymakers are nearly powerless when it comes to the underlying issue of storage chip shortages driving Apple's decision to raise prices. Currently, only a few companies produce storage chips, with the three major industry giants—Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology—dominating the market. However, these companies are diverting most of their production capacity to serve the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector, thereby squeezing supply for consumer technology firms. Having suffered losses during past cycles of boom and bust, large storage chip manufacturers are cautious and conservative about expanding production, fearing that increased output could lead to another round of oversupply. Moreover, building new factories takes years. China is the country closest to offering a "quick solution" to the U.S. chip shortage, but U.S. national security regulations make it difficult for American companies to collaborate with Chinese storage chip manufacturers. Nevertheless, the shortage has become so severe that some major consumer tech companies have requested U.S. government officials to relax restrictions on cooperation with China. These companies also hope the U.S. will make it easier for Samsung and SK Hynix to increase their production capacity in China.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868502686793867/
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