[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON JI ] Reuters reported on the 3rd (local time) that SK hynix’s plans to build a new memory chip factory in New York State are facing delays after the U.S. government suspended approval for the import of U.S.-made equipment needed by SK hynix(000660)to expand its semiconductor production in China.
According to sources, SK hynix requested an export license from the U.S. government to import equipment to its Dalian plant in China, but the Department of Commerce has not yet approved it. SK hynix plans to use the profits generated by expanding production at the Dalian plant to fund the construction of new production facilities in the United States.
Solidigm, an American subsidiary of SK hynix, is moving forward with plans to invest approximately $45 billion (about 60 trillion won) to build two NAND semiconductor factories in Massie, New York. In the long term, the total investment could grow to about $100 billion (about 134 trillion won).

Solidigm executives have held about 10 meetings with U.S. Department of Commerce officials since late August to discuss export license issues. In late August, Solidigm executives, including Co-CEO Richard Chin, met with Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnick and Deputy Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler. At the time, U.S. government officials reportedly showed considerable interest in the potential for investment in the U.S. and the construction of NAND production facilities, and expressed a willingness to cooperate to resolve the issues.
However, at a meeting held last week, Under Secretary Kessler maintained the department’s existing position that it would not permit the import of additional U.S.-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment to expand production capacity or advance technology. Solidigm has revised the draft export license application several times in consultation with the Department of Commerce, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement.
Nevertheless, the Department of Commerce has not officially rejected the export license application to install U.S.-made equipment in the vacant cleanroom space at the Dalian plant. The two sides are also negotiating a separate export license for 2027 to import equipment necessary for the maintenance and repair of the Dalian plant.
In 2020, SK hynix agreed to acquire Intel’s NAND flash memory plant in Dalian, China, and related businesses for $9 billion (approximately 12 trillion won). Subsequently, the U.S. began restricting exports of U.S.-made manufacturing equipment to advanced semiconductor factories in China. Initially, regulatory exemptions were granted for foreign-owned semiconductor production facilities in China, but last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce revoked existing approvals and shifted to an annual export licensing system that limits the volume of equipment and technology that can be imported. The Department of Commerce has stated that it will not issue export licenses for purposes such as expanding production capacity or advancing technology.
In response, SK hynix argues that installing equipment in idle cleanrooms at the Dalian plant does not constitute an expansion of production capacity, citing the fact that those cleanrooms were already constructed in 2023.
Leland Miller, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission—a bipartisan advisory body under the U.S. Congress—stated, “Ultimately, without White House approval, none of these plans can move forward.”