TOKYO -- Japanese government is considering levying countervailing duties on Hynix Semiconductor Inc.'s dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday. The Japanese government views subsides given to Hynix from a government-related financial institution to be a violation of trade practices, undermining the competitiveness of Japanese chip makers.
 |
The production facility of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
|
 |
|
If Japanese domestic semiconductor producers such as Elpida Memory Inc. file complaints urging the government to impose countervailing duties on Hynix DRAMs, the government will conduct a detailed study, and will begin to levy countervailing duties as early as this summer, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
After getting complaints from Japanese domestic firms, the Japanese government is to send an inquiry to Hynix on the firm’s financing, to see if the firm received improper subsidies. The process is expected to take about one year, but the Japanese government could implement the duties on a provisional basis starting this summer, the paper said. The tariff rate is estimated at 20 to 40 percent.
The United States and the European Union (EU) imposed 30 to 45 percent countervailing duties on Hynix's DRAM products last summer.
(Jung Kwon-hyun, khjung@chosun.com )
|
