The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) has publicly called on the U.S. government to refrain from intervening in the memory chip market.
The letter came as Apple asked the U.S. government to cooperate so it can procure memory from China's CXMT and YMTC to ease shortages. This is seen as the semiconductor industry, including SEMI, expressing opposition.
According to Bloomberg News on the 2nd (local time), SEMI said in a recent letter sent to senior officials in the Trump administration, "Government intervention that distorts price or capacity decisions risks prolonging the demand slump." With Micron in the United States, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix all participating as members, SEMI's position is effectively interpreted as that of the entire memory industry.
The association said policies that strengthen production bases in the United States help stabilize supply chains, but direct intervention in prices and capacity is counterproductive, emphasizing that "the current market is addressing the problem through expanded U.S. production and long-term supply contracts." As alternatives, it proposed working with Congress to expand long-term supply contracts, extend tax incentives for expanding U.S. production, and introduce consumer tax credit to respond to surging mobile phone and laptop prices.
While SEMI expects industry memory capacity to grow by about 19% annually, it projected that demand driven by investment in AI infrastructure will rise even faster, leading to prolonged shortages of memory for laptops, automobiles, and home appliances. Although major companies are moving to expand capacity, building new plants takes years, making it difficult to restore supply-demand balance in the short term.