US to ensure Korean chipmakers' smooth operation regarding China curbs: deputy secretary
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, left, speaks with Korea's First Vice Industry Minister Jang Young-jin at a forum in Seoul, Sept. 21. Yonhap
The United States will "do everything" to make sure that Korean chipmakers are able to continue their business in China or elsewhere, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, one month to go before the expiry of its one-year waiver from equipment export restrictions on China.
In October last year, the U.S. announced a set of rules that restrict exports of certain advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and items to companies in China in an apparent bid to slow Beijing's technological advances.
But Samsung Electronics and SK hynix received a one-year waiver amid concerns that the move would disrupt their businesses in China as the Korean chip giants rely on U.S. equipment for part of their production there.
"We understand the concerns that companies have and we'll do everything that we can to make sure that companies are able to continue to conduct their business," U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves told Yonhap News Agency in Seoul.
He visited Korea on Thursday for a two-day stay to discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation on advanced industries and other pending issues of mutual concern.
Samsung Electronics' semiconductor complex in Xian, China / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
Graves refused to comment on individual cases but stressed that Washington is giving them "the opportunity to explain to us why they should receive a waiver" as it wants "to make sure that what we're doing is allowing legitimate business to go on" and does not want to "constrain" them "unnecessarily."
"We want to have strong national security but also allow our businesses to be able to continue to do their work and to succeed, because ... if they're able to invest successfully, grow research and development, then they'll be able to have long term success and we'll be able to keep that technological advantage together as partners," Graves said.
Earlier, Korea's industry ministry voiced expectations for the extension of the waiver as the two nations have been in talks regarding the issue.
Samsung runs a chip manufacturing plant in the Chinese city of Xian, which accounts for some 40 percent of its global NAND flash production. In Suzhou, the chipmaker runs a semiconductor packaging factory.
SK hynix currently operates multiple plants in China, including one in the eastern city of Wuxi, where it manufactures about half of its global DRAM chips. (Yonhap)