South Korea condemns US punitive duties on Hynix, threatens action
Wednesday April 2, 4:13 PM
asia.news.yahoo.com
SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea threatened to take the United States to the World Trade Organization over a US decision to impose punitive duties on ailing computer chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor Co.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it "deeply regretted" the US Commerce Department's preliminary decision to impose crippling duties on Hynix on charges that Hynix had received government subsidies.
The US Department of Commerce said imports of DRAMs from South Korea were unfairly subsidised and countervailing duties would be imposed on chips shipped by Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
Hynix was hit with a massive 57.37 percent punitive tariff, a level much steeper than the widely expected 30 percent, with Samsung facing only a 0.16 percent tariff.
The US Commerce Department initiated an investigation into Hynix Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics in November following a petition by Micron Technology Inc to determine if the South Korean government had extended subsidies to local DRAM makers.
"We express regret that the US government accepted unilateral allegations by the accuser and decided to impose high countervailing duties of 57.37 percent" on Hynix, the ministry said.
It said the bailout package extended by local banks to Hynix was purely a private decision and thus it could not be viewed as a form of government subsidy simply because some banks involved were state-controlled.
Under the preliminary ruling, Hynix must deposit temporary duties pending a final ruling which will come only after a full-fledged probe by the US Department of Commerce that starts later this month.
South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy insisted the government had taken no part in the bailout programme which was decided upon by Hynix creditor banks.
"We will do our best to have the final ruling reflect our position. We will also study various countermeasures including a legal action at the WTO," assistant minister Kim Jong-Kap told journalists.
Last year, DRAMs made up 35 percent, or 5.97 billion dollars, of South Korea's total semiconductor exports, of which 32 percent or 1.94 billion dollars were shipped to the United States. |
