The US will allow Samsung and TSMC to keep the production of microchips in China – Kommersant

The Joe Biden administration intends to allow some South Korean and Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers to maintain and even expand their manufacturing facilities in China. This is reported The Wall Street Journal with reference to Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Esteves.

Recall that in October 2022, the administration of Mr. Biden introduced new sanctions against China, banning American companies and individuals from selling semiconductors created using American technology without obtaining an export license. Dozens of Chinese companies have been blacklisted by US authorities and trading with them has been banned.

At the same time, the American authorities at the same time issued permission to trade with China to several companies, among which were two giants in the field of semiconductor production – South Korean Samsung and Taiwanese TSMC. The permit was issued for a period of one year and expires in October 2023. Mr. Esteves, according to the newspaper, said during a meeting with representatives of the microchip industry last week that the US authorities “for the foreseeable future” intend to extend this authorization.

According to the WSJ, Mr. Estevez’s remarks have left some in the US semiconductor industry bewildered, given that the trade war with China has flared up again in recent months. So, in April of this year, the China Cyber ​​Security Administration announced about the beginning of an investigation against the American semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology, and at the end of May banned local operators of critical infrastructure to buy the products of a US company.

Financial Times wrotethat the US has asked South Korea to ask its chip makers not to fill the gap in the Chinese market in the event of a Micron ban. Despite this, Deputy Minister of Economy of South Korea Jang Yong Chin declared May 22 that South Korean companies are willing to make up for the loss of US company Micron’s chips for China. “About what the US told us to do or not to do: it really depends on our companies. Both Samsung and SK Hynix with their activities around the world will decide on this,” Mr. Chan said at the time. Samsung and SK Hynix declined to comment on the situation.

Kirill Sarkhanyants