The U.S. government suspended the export control measures for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's production facilities in China for one year. Both companies will be able to begin the production in China without any setbacks for the next year.
On the 11th (local time), the U.S. Department of Commerce notified Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix that they are allowed to import necessary equipment for semiconductor production facilities in China for one year without a separate permit. SK Hynix announced that it had consulted with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
On the 7th, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a measure to ban the exports such as 18-nm or less DRAM, 128-layer NAND flash, and 14-nm or less logic semiconductor facilities produced in China.
A foreign media reports that U.S. semiconductor equipment company KLA has notified its Chinese-based customers to stop providing products and services, which raised concerns over Korean companies with production facilities in China will be impacted.
However, the export control measures included that non-Chinese companies could obtain the necessary equipment for their factories in China by obtaining separate permits. Hence, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix prepared the approval process from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
However, the U.S. authorities have granted a one-year extension so that domestic companies can receive equipment without a separate license that is required for the new regulations. It is one step further from the regulations for foreign companies in China. Whether this measure will continue to apply after a year is still unclear.
An SK Hynix official said, "We have reached an amicable agreement with the U.S. so that we can continue to produce semiconductor products in China. We will continue to work closely with the Korean government and the U.S. Department of Commerce to operate our factories in China within the scope of complying with international order.”
By Staff Reporter Yoon-seop Song (sys@etnews.com)