Samsung and SK Hynix get U.S. 2026 license to ship chipmaking tools to China as key waiver expires
NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 04:40 ET 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. Reuters 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