The US Department of Commerce will impose a 13.11% anti-dumping tariff on Hyundai Electronics Inc’s DRAM memory chips, under a preliminary decision reached at the end of last week. LG Semicon Co, with which Hyundai is currently merging, will have 10.67% penalty tariffs imposed on its memory chip exports. A final decision is due in the fall.
Once LG merges into Hyundai, all exports will be covered by the higher penalty rate. But DRAMs manufactured by Hyundai in the US at its Eugene, Oregon facility will not be subject to any fines.
The fines relate to a twelve-month period ending in April 1998, during which US firms, including Micron Technology Inc, claimed that the Taiwanese firms were selling at unfair prices. Micron first filed a complaint in 1992. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd was originally included in the case, but subsequently dropped. Taiwan has already indicated that it intends to impose similar tariffs on US sales to Taiwan, after 30 local semiconductor firms filed complaints to the government’s trade investigation committee (CI No 3,673).
Korean chip exports have been subject to antidumping rates ranging from 3.95% to 9.04% since last year, according to the Korea Herald, quoting the Korea International Trade Association. Korea’s chip exports to the United States reached $1.79bn in 1997 and $1.92bn in 1998.
