Washington Clears Samsung, SK Hynex to Keep Sending Chip Tools to China Through 2026
U.S. quietly green-lights Samsung and SK Hynix to ship advanced chip tools to Chinese fabs until 2026, easing Seoul’s supply fears while keeping a geopolitical leash on Beijing.
Inside the Decision That Could Reshape Global Chip Supply Lines
Washington—In a quiet Friday-afternoon filing that ricocheted through Asian markets, the U.S. Commerce Department told Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix it will not block the export of critical chipmaking gear to their China plants for at least another three years.
The Waiver That Calmed Seoul
South Korean officials had lobbied for months, warning that sudden cut-offs would fracture supply chains for memory chips used in everything from iPhones to Teslas. The approval—valid through 2026—covers extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) scanners, atomic-layer etchers and high-bandwidth testing sockets, tools vital for sub-7-nanometer production lines in Xi’an, Wuxi and Chongqing.
“This is not a loophole; it’s a calculated pause,” said a senior Commerce official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We retain the power to revoke overnight.”
Why 2026 Matters
The extension buys Seoul time to diversify. Samsung’s new $17 billion fab in Taylor, Texas, and SK Hynix’s $15 billion complex in Yongin, South Korea, won’t hit full yield until 2027. Meanwhile, Beijing’s Made-in-China 2025 subsidies are racing to replace foreign tools with domestic rigs from Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) and NAURA. Analysts say the three-year window is the tightrope Washington chose: keep allied fabs humming without handing Beijing a permanent tech ladder.
Market Whiplash
Samsung’s Seoul-listed shares jumped 4.8% on the news; SK Hynix climbed 6.1%. In after-hours trading, Applied Materials and Lam Research—both U.S. suppliers—rose 3%. Chinese rival Hua Hong Semiconductor dipped 2.3%.
What Happens Next
- Quarterly audits: U.S. inspectors will visit fabs to ensure tools make legacy 14-nm or above chips for Chinese customers.
- Cap-ex watch: Any attempt to upgrade China facilities to 3-nm nodes triggers an automatic license review.
- Allied pressure: Japan and the Netherlands, co-signers of the 2023 export-control pact, must now decide whether to match Washington’s timeline.
The Bigger Chip Chessboard
The move keeps 18% of global DRAM capacity inside China under American oversight, a lever the White House can tighten if geopolitics sour over Taiwan or Ukraine. For now, tech giants breathe easier; 2026 is a lifetime in semiconductor years, and every nanometer counts.