US Commerce Secretary Urges Samsung and SK Hynix to Expand Memory Chip Production in America

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called on South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to expand memory chip production in the United States to address a critical shortage of components for global artificial intelligence development. Speaking at an event hosted by Micron Technology, Lutnick confirmed he is in talks with the two Korean firms but declined to provide details. He acknowledged that Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra may not welcome competitors expanding in the U.S., but stressed the need to strengthen the American chip supply chain. Samsung and SK Hynix plan to invest a combined $880 billion in new factories over the coming years to meet surging demand driven by AI. Micron earlier announced plans to increase its U.S. investment to $250 billion by 2035. Lutnick also largely avoided commenting on whether the Trump administration would allow Apple to buy memory chips from two Chinese companies blacklisted by the Pentagon, ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, a move that could undermine Micron's investment plans.

Global Impact

This development has significant economic and geopolitical dimensions. Economically, the push for U.S.-based memory chip production could accelerate a multi-trillion-dollar reshoring trend in semiconductors, benefiting U.S. construction, equipment makers, and local economies but potentially leading to global overcapacity and price compression in memory chips.