Samsung and SK Hynix were authorized by Washington to supply their Chinese factories with American material to make chips. Furthermore, the decision is made for an indefinite period of time.

The US government is allowing South Korean chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix to export US materials to their Chinese production facilities indefinitely. This is reported by Reuters.

Together outside

From now on, Samsung and SK Hynix no longer require individual approval from the US to ship materials or parts to their Chinese locations. This was confirmed by both companies and the South Korean government.

The American Ministry of Economic Affairs will now adjust its list of which organizations can import and export certain technologies. Once Samsung and SK Hynix and the relevant materials are included on this list, general permission applies.

Samsung praises its cooperation with all relevant authorities in this matter. SK Hynix would like to thank the Americans in particular.

ThroughDRAMming

The two South Korean companies occupy first and second place in the ranking of the world’s largest chip producers. There is great relief after massive investments in Chinese factories.

40 percent of Samsung’s NAND flash chips are manufactured in China, and at SK Hynix that is a fifth of the production of these memory chips. In addition, SK Hynix also produces 40 percent of its DRAM chips in Wuxi, China. Both companies account for 70 percent of the DRAM market and half of the global NAND market.

China and the US have been at odds economically for some time, particularly when it comes to technology. For example, Washington wants to completely close the open architecture for chip production RISC-V to the Chinese. Beijing had previously blocked a takeover of Tower Semiconductor by Intel.