The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to announce Tuesday its final ruling on whether the Korean government subsidized its DRAM makers and whether countervailing tariffs will be imposed on Korea's DRAM shipments to the United States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said yesterday.

In an April preliminary ruling, the department decided to impose tariffs of 57.37 percent on Hynix Semiconductor and 0.16 percent on Samsung Electronics, saying Korea unfairly subsidized memory chips imported by the United States in 2001 and the first half of 2002.

Should the tariffs remain unchanged by the upcoming rulings, Korea's DRAM exports to the United States are sure to be hit hard as export prices will soar.

Some experts opine the duties might be significantly lowered given President Roh Moo-hyun's pro-U.S. stance during his visit to Washington last month and the Commerce Department's recent conciliatory attitude. But the government is still cautious.

By: DocMemory
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