US limits S Korean firms' China sales

The US government is making it harder for South Korean chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix to secure American equipment for their factories in China, hamstringing their operations in the country and walling Beijing off from certain semiconductor technology.

- ALEXANDRA STEVENSON

The Commerce Department said Friday that it would revoke authori-sations that had allowed the companies to ship critical semiconductor machinery to China.

The companies will now need to secure licences from the Trump administration if they want to purchase American equipment for their Chinese factories.

Under former President Joe Biden, the government issued sweeping restrictions in 2022 in an attempt to cut off China's access to important US technology. But in 2023 it granted waivers to the South Korean chipmakers.