June 22, 2006 – The World Trade Organization (WTO) is stepping in to settle a dispute between Japan and South Korea over tariffs levied on DRAM exports.

Japan, which investigated complaints from Elpida Memory Inc. and Micron Japan Ltd. since 2004, claims the South Korean government improperly gave Hynix export subsidies, enabling the chipmaker to set product prices unfairly low in the Japanese market. South Korea contends the money was a loan from a government-financed bank, not subsidies.

The European Union and the US both imposed duties on Hynix in 2003; the WTO upheld the US’ 44% tariff last summer, but ruled that the EU should lower its countervailing tariff on Hynix memory chips to 32.9% from 34.8%.