WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department has slapped a final import duty of 44.71 percent on Hynix Semiconductor Inc. to offset alleged subsidies by the Korean government, according to a report from Reuters.
The DOC's final estimate of the amount of South Korean government aid reflected in import prices for Hynix's DRAMs. The ruling was down from a preliminary determination of 57 percent it made in early April (see April 1 story ).
The U.S. case against Hynix was brought last November by Micron Technology Inc., alleging that the South Korean chip firm received $11.7 billion in illegal Korean government-sanctioned subsidies as part of three different bailouts in the period January 2001 to June 2002.
That ruling came only a week after the European Commission notified member countries of the European Union that it would recommend a countervailing duty of up to 35 percent on imported Hynix chips for the same illegal South Korean government subsidies.
Hynix could still escape the duties if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), based here, determines that the U.S. petitioner, Micron, has not been been hurt by subsidized competition from South Korea, the report said.
The ITC will hold a hearing next week as part of that phase of the investigation, and is expected to issue its decision in late July or early August, it added.
