Asia-Pacific
US grants Samsung and SK hynix licences to ship chipmaking tools to China for 2026
US grants annual licences for Samsung and SK Hynix to ship chipmaking tools to China for 2026 under new export control regime.
Headline
US grants annual licences for Samsung and SK Hynix to ship chipmaking tools to China for 2026 under new export control regime.
Context
• The US government has awarded annual licences allowing Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to export chip manufacturing equipment to their Chinese facilities for 2026, replacing the lapse of broader waivers. • The shift—a move in Washington’s evolving export controls—reflects geopolitical tensions and could influence memory chip supply dynamics amid growing AI data-centre demand. The US government has granted Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix annual licences permitting them to bring American-origin chip-manufacturing equipment into their semiconductor production facilities in China throughout 2026, according to people familiar with the matter.
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
This approval follows a decision earlier in 2025 to revoke the so-called validated end user (VEU) waivers that allowed certain foreign chipmakers—including Samsung, SK Hynix and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)—to receive US semiconductor tools in China without separate export licences. With the VEU status expiring on December 31, 2025, individual licences are now required under the new system introduced by Washington. Under the revised framework, Samsung and SK Hynix received annual approval for chipmaking tool shipments, providing a temporary reprieve that allows their existing China operations to remain supplied with US‐controlled technology. Samsung, the world’s top memory chip maker, and SK Hynix, the second largest, count China as a significant production base, especially for traditional memory chips whose prices have climbed due to demand from artificial intelligence data centres and tighter global supplies. Both companies declined to comment, and there was no immediate response from the US Department of Commerce outside regular business hours. The renewed licensing regime marks a shift from the previous policy that eased exports under broad waivers, under which shipments of US chipmaking tools to Chinese fabs did not require annual review. Also Read: Samsung and KT validate AI-RAN on commercial networks, boosting 6G prospects Also Read: Samsung honoured for AI and security breakthroughs at CES 2026
Key Points
- What happened: Annual licences replace blanket waivers for Korean chipmakers in China
- Why it’s important
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
