Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration plans to relieve SK Hynix and Samsung of the brunt of new restrictions on China’s DRAM and flash memory chip makers aimed at hampering Beijing’s technology ambitions and blocking its military gains, sources said.
The Commerce Department, which plans to curb technology exports to China this week, is likely to deny requests from U.S. suppliers to ship equipment to Chinese companies such as Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd ( YMTC ) and ChangXin Memory Technologies, Inc ( CXMT ). sources said that when they produce advanced DRAM or flash memory chips.
However, requests for a license to sell equipment to foreign companies that make advanced memory chips in China will be considered on a case-by-case basis, the sources said, potentially allowing them to obtain the equipment.
“The goal is not to hurt non-indigenous companies,” said one of the people briefed on the matter.
The White House and the Commerce Department declined to comment. SK Hynix, Samsung, YMTC, CXMT and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chris Sanders and Richard Chang)
