July 7, 2003 – The South Korean government has told the European Union it will appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the EU decides to follow the US in levying additional tariffs against Hynix Semiconductor, according to a report in The New York Times.

South Korea has already stated its intention to file a complaint with the WTO over a 45% tariff imposed by the US Commerce Department in June.

EU members will vote in August on whether to impose a 34% tariff on Hynix chips, a slight increase from a 33% tariff which it imposed in April.

The dispute stems from complaints by semiconductor manufacturers Infineon and Micron, which lodged complaints that Hynix was receiving credit from the government-controlled Korea Exchange Bank.