The United States authorities are known to be willing to grant subsidies for the development of production in the United States, provided that companies refuse to expand production of 28 nm and improved products in China for a period of 10 years. The largest South Korean producers of memory chips express concern about this situation because they have large enterprises in China.
As Business Korea explains, it is still difficult to clearly understand whether the new provisions of U.S. law relate to Samsung and SK hynix in China. The recently adopted CHIPS and Science Act does not specify whether applications for government subsidies in the U.S. are not allowed or excluded from the 28-n memory chips in China. The U.S. Department of Commerce should explain later, while SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are about to claim state subsidies in the U.S. when they build their new businesses within the country.
Samsung Electronics is now producing solid memory in China in Siane, as well as testing and packaging a memory chip in Suzhou. SK hynix has a microschemist in Usi and a solid memory company in Dalian, the last one it received from Intel, which is now known to have made a very timely transaction in the light of its high interest in receiving subsidies in the US.
SK hynix risks being left without US subsidies more because its Usi company uses lithographic standards less than 20 nm to produce a memory chip. In the case of Samsung, the risk is lower because the number of layers, rather than nanometers, is crucial in the production of solid memory. Another feature of the requirements of the U.S. authorities is the need for grant applicants to report regularly on their investment activities and plans, which are usually considered to be commercial secrets.