NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 04:40 ET
- The U.S. granted annual licences for 2026 allowing Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to import chipmaking equipment into their China plants, sources said.
- The move comes ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline when “validated end user” exemptions expire and shipments would otherwise require new export licences.
- The approvals ease near-term disruption risk for China-based memory output as AI-driven demand tightens supply.
The U.S. government has granted Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix annual licences to bring chip manufacturing equipment to their facilities in China for 2026, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The decision lands days before a broader privilege known as “validated end user” status expires on Dec. 31. The status allowed certain foreign-owned plants in China to receive some U.S.-origin chipmaking tools under sweeping exemptions rather than applying shipment by shipment.
That timing matters for the memory-chip supply chain. Samsung and SK Hynix use China as a key production base for more traditional memory chips, whose prices have been rising on demand from AI data centers and tighter supplies, the sources said.
One of the sources said Washington introduced the annual approval system for exports of chipmaking tools to China after it moved earlier this year to revoke licence waivers given to some technology companies.
The shift is part of a wider tightening of export controls aimed at limiting China’s access to advanced U.S. technology. The Trump administration has been re-examining rules it viewed as too relaxed under the Biden administration.
Research firm TrendForce said U.S. officials have been moving toward a “site license” approach that requires chipmakers to submit the types and quantities of semiconductor equipment they expect to need over the year for review. TrendForce
TrendForce said the system reduces the risk of a sudden halt in shipments, but leaves companies exposed to planning constraints if they misjudge needs or face unplanned tool failures and replacements.
The firm added that the revision does not soften Washington’s stance on restricting equipment exports tied to expansions or upgrades at China-based fabs, keeping the focus on maintaining output rather than adding advanced capacity there.
TrendForce estimates China will account for roughly 30% to 35% of Samsung’s NAND output in 2025. It projects China will produce a similar share of SK Hynix’s DRAM output and as much as 40% to 45% of its NAND.
Samsung and SK Hynix declined to comment. The U.S. Department of Commerce was not immediately available for comment outside business hours, the sources said.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, also benefited from the earlier exemptions, and it did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the broader licensing shift.
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