Reuters: U.S. Holds Off on Export Approvals for SK Hynix's China Plant, Disrupting New York Investment

The U.S. government has reportedly held off on approving exports of U.S.-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment needed for SK Hynix to expand its plant in China, creating obstacles for the company's investment plans in a semiconductor plant in New York State, Reuters reported on November 3, local time.

Citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that SK Hynix requested export approvals for U.S.-made chipmaking equipment necessary to increase production capacity at its Dalian plant in China, but the U.S. Department of Commerce has yet to approve them.

Executives at Solidigm, an American granddaughter company of SK Hynix, have engaged in ongoing negotiations with the U.S. Commerce Department, holding close to 10 meetings since late August.

During a meeting last week, Jeffrey Kessler, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, reportedly maintained the stance that additional shipments of U.S.-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment for capacity expansion or facility upgrades cannot be permitted.

However, the two sides are reportedly negotiating separately regarding export approvals for equipment needed to operate the Dalian plant in 2027.

Sources explained that whether the expansion of the Dalian plant is approved serves as a core variable for SK Hynix's investment plans in New York.

SK Hynix plans to secure financial resources for its domestic U.S. investments through profits generated by increasing the productivity of the Dalian plant.

Solidigm is pursuing a plan to invest $45 billion to build two NAND flash memory plants in Marcy, New York.

Long-term investment scale could reach up to $100 billion, according to sources.

Reuters noted that this situation highlights a policy dilemma for the Donald Trump administration regarding how far it can ease national security regulations established against China in order to attract foreign investment and build semiconductor production facilities within the United States.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.