Hynix lobbies for support in dispute.Byline: Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard Officials and employees at the Eugene Hynix factory have launched an unusual, high-profile campaign to lobby the governor and the Oregon Congressional delegation to support the computer-chip manufacturer in an ongoing trade dispute. Over the weekend, Hynix sent letters to the offices of Oregon senators and representatives in Washington, D.C., thanking them for backing the 850-employee Eugene factory. The letters included the signatures of 500 employees at the plant who signed voluntarily, said S.W. Kim, strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. manager at the west Eugene chip plant. The lobbying is the latest twist in a long business war between Hynix and its U.S. rival, Micron Technology Micron Technology ("Micron") NYSE: MU is a multinational company based in Boise, Idaho, USA, best known for producing many forms of semiconductor devices. This includes DRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, and CMOS image sensing chips. Inc. of Boise. At Micron's request, U.S. officials are investigating the Eugene plant's South Korean parent company for unfair trade practices. Earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department ruled that the South Korean government had unfairly subsidized sub·si·dize tr.v. sub·si·dized, sub·si·diz·ing, sub·si·diz·es 1. To assist or support with a subsidy. 2. To secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy. the parent company, and declared that the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. may levy a 57 percent tariff tariff, tax on imported and, more rarely, exported goods. It is also called a customs duty. Tariffs may be distinguished from other taxes in that their predominant purpose is not financial but economic—not to increase a nation's revenue but to protect domestic on chips that are sent from Hynix's Korean factories to the United States. A final U.S. ruling is expected in June. Now, Hynix is saying the tariff may hurt the Eugene operation, a significant employer in Oregon. Oregon's Congressional delegation recently introduced resolutions in the U.S. House and Senate urging the Commerce Department to carefully consider relations between the United States and South Korea when deciding whether to impose a tariff on Korean-made DRAM, or dynamic random access memory Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. Since real capacitors leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. , chips imported into the United States. Such a tariff would reduce the parent company's cash flow, and that could cut the amount of money the parent company can allocate to upgrade Hynix's facilities, including the Eugene plant, Kim said. In addition to the Eugene plant, Hynix has a half-dozen plants in Korea. Kim said a tariff wouldn't threaten the $100 million upgrade of equipment that Hynix recently launched in Eugene, but it could jeopardize jeop·ard·ize tr.v. jeop·ard·ized, jeop·ard·iz·ing, jeop·ard·izes To expose to loss or injury; imperil. See Synonyms at endanger. later upgrades. The ongoing upgrade will enable the Eugene plant to produce 50 percent more chips per wafer (1) A small, thin continuous-loop magnetic tape cartridge that has been used from time to time for data storage and specialized applications. (2) The base unit of chip making. It is a slice taken from a salami-like silicon crystal ingot up to 12" (300mm) in diameter. . In its decision, the Commerce Department proposed that chips produced by the Eugene plant be exempt from the tariff. That has underscored the importance of the Eugene plant to Hynix. About a quarter of Hynix's total chip production, from both Korean and the Eugene factories, is sold in the United States. For the rest of this year, Hynix expects to be able to meet 85 percent of demand from its U.S. customers with chips made in Eugene, spokesman Jerold Olson said. However, 15 percent would still need to be imported from Korea. And unless the tariff proposal is defeated, those chips would face a steep tariff. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski Theodore R. "Ted" Kulongoski (born November 5 1940, in rural Missouri[1]) is an American Democratic politician. Since 2003, he has served as the Governor of Oregon. He was re-elected in 2006. visited the Eugene plant last month. Hynix is hoping other officials also will accept the company's invitation to see the factory, Olson said. "We believe our company is an integral part of the business structure of our state," Hynix's letter said. |
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