Back in February, the US government implemented a new regulation that instructs semiconductor foundries like Samsung to report customer details to the government every three months. However, the Korean firm opposed the regulation, as it could create trade risks and negatively impact its business activities.
Samsung shared its opinion with the US government about the new regulation
According to the Korean media, Samsung submitted its opinion letter on the Interim Final Rule (IFR) on “Additional Due Diligence Measures for Advanced Semiconductors and Integrated Circuits” to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce last month. It expressed concerns over the US Department of Commerce’s regulation requiring semiconductor foundry companies to report customer information to the government on a quarterly basis.
“Samsung hopes that the rule will effectively protect the national security of the United States, but at the same time, it hopes to alleviate concerns that this regulation may have unintended consequences and hinder innovation,” Samsung said in its letter. The Korean firm also sent a confidential document, saying public disclosure could negatively impact its business activities.
It is worth noting that the Joe Biden administration (just before the end of its term) announced this new regulation. Basically, semiconductor foundry companies must tell the US government who their customers are if they are making cutting-edge chips using processes below 14nm to 16nm.
While the US government wants to stop advanced semiconductors from reaching China, foundries like Samsung and TSMC could lose out on the Chinese market. It could also push Chinese semiconductor companies to become more independent and start making these advanced chips on their own.
As of now, this new regulation has yet to come into effect. Last month, the government completed collecting opinions from companies, and now the final regulation is expected to be announced soon.
