South Korea’s trade ministry has stated that the United States’ proposed rules to prevent $52 billion in chip funding from being used by “countries of concern” will not require recipients to close their China factories. The proposed rules limit growth in chip production capacity in China to 5 percent over 10 years, but do not restrict investments in technology upgrades or necessary equipment replacement. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s largest and second-largest memory-chip makers, respectively, have chip production facilities in China, but may still apply for funding. Both companies are reviewing the details of the announcement.
China chip plants can stay open if US-funded, confirms S. Korea.
