Bloomberg
US government attempts to address the global memory chip shortage by influencing prices or production capacity would worsen a historic squeeze on supply driven by the artificial intelligence boom, a semiconductor industry group warned the administration of US President Donald Trump.In a letter to senior administration officials, the industry association SEMI urged the US instead to allow companies to continue striking long-term agreements with customers and extend tax breaks aimed at increasing output in the US. The top three memorychip makers — Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc as well as SK Hynix Inc and Samsung Electronics Co of South Korea — are members of SEMI.“While targeted policies can support accelerating domestic supply resilience, interventions that distort pricing or capacity decisions risk prolonging the demand downturn,” SEMI said in its letter, according to a copy seen by Bloomberg News.
A man walks past SK Hynix Inc signage at the company’s office in Seongnam, South Korea, on Tuesday.
“Current market conditions are being addressed through investments in American manufacturing and an increasing focus on long-term purchase agreements,” the organization added.Industries ranging from automobile manufacturing to consumer electronics are coping with an unprecedented squeeze on the supply of memory chips, which are in record demand for use in the high-end processors that power AI data centers. Apple Inc. is now seeking the Trump administration’s blessing to purchase memory components from two Chinese companies on a Pentagon blacklist.
