Hynix wins tariff break in Europe

LONDON ― The United Kingdom’s Customs and Excise Agency recently decided that Hynix Semiconductor Inc.’s dynamic random access memory module, made with silicon wafers produced in its Eugene, Oregon plant, should be excluded from countervailing duties levied by the European Union because the modules are made in the United States. In August, the EU imposed a 35-percent penalty tariff on products produced by Hynix in Korea, in retaliation for government subsidies to the chipmaker. Hynix asked the U.K. government to exclude its DRAM modules that used wafers produced in the United States from the tariffs. “Since the decision by the United Kingdom will also apply to other EU members, Hynix will be able to export the modules to Europe without the countervailing duties,” said Kim Il-su, an official at the South Korean Embassy in London.