South Korea Exempt from Semiconductor Trade Restrictions with China

According to Yonhap news agency, the South Korean presidential office, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix would be able to supply U.S. semiconductor equipment to their China facilities indefinitely without further U.S. licenses. The United States was anticipated to extend a waiver given to South Korean chipmakers on the requirement for licenses to bring US chip equipment into China.

According to Yonhap, the US Department of Commerce is amending its "validated end user" list, which indicates which firms can receive technology exports, to allow Samsung and SK Hynix to continue selling some U.S. chipmaking tools to their China facilities.

Once included in the list, there is no need to obtain permission for separate export cases.

"We welcome the U.S. government's decision to extend a waiver with regard to the export control regulations. We believe the decision will contribute to the stabilisation of the global semiconductor supply chain," SK Hynix said in a statement.