US BIS expands VEU authorizations for Samsung China Semiconductor and SK Hynix to all-EAR items, excluding EUV for memory production

Mechanism

BIS administers the Validated End-User (VEU) program under Supplement No. 7 to EAR Part 748. VEU status pre-authorises exports to specific foreign entities whose reliability has been vetted, removing the need for individual licences on each shipment.

Samsung China Semiconductor was first added to the VEU list in July 2013; SK Hynix Semiconductor (China) in October 2010. Prior authorizations were enumerated restricted lists of approved ECCNs. This October 2023 rule converted both to a positive catch-all ("all items subject to the EAR") with product-specific EUV carve-outs — a structural change that simplifies licence compliance for shipments of non-EUV tooling while maintaining a hard ceiling on the most advanced lithography.

The revision was filed the same day as the sweeping October 2023 advanced-computing chip controls (88 FR 71050, FR Doc 2023-22560) which tightened ECCN coverage for advanced GPUs, accelerators, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The VEU expansion acts as a compensating mechanism: new items brought under EAR control by the broader rule become immediately deliverable to these two fabs without requiring individual licences, provided the EUV floor is observed.

Samsung China Semiconductor Co. Ltd. — Xi'an NAND fab

• Address: No. 1999, North Xiaohe Road, Xi'an, China 710119
• Product focus: NAND flash memory
• VEU restriction: EUV equipment and EUV-related components for NAND production excluded

SK Hynix Semiconductor (China) Ltd. — Wuxi DRAM fab

• Address: Lot K7, Wuxi High-tech Zone, Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Wuxi New District, Jiangsu Province, China 214028
• Product focus: DRAM
• VEU restriction: EUV equipment and EUV-related components for DRAM production excluded

Both entities remain subject to compliance obligations under the VEU program (certification, recordkeeping, reporting) and to the controls at 15 CFR §§ 744.6(c)(2) and 744.23(a).

A technical correction to this rule was published on 8 November 2023 (FR Doc 2023-23312, 88 FR 77197) to fix a missing word in the SK Hynix eligible-items description and to remove the obsolete standalone VEU entry for SK Hynix Semiconductor (Wuxi) Ltd., which had been merged into SK Hynix Semiconductor (China) Ltd. (see 2023-11-08-us-bis-samsung-skhynix-veu-correction).

Downstream implications

• Non-EUV semiconductor manufacturing equipment suppliers (e.g., ASML DUV tools, applied materials

etch/CVD, Lam Research, KLA inspection) can continue shipping to these two fabs without per-shipment licences under the expanded VEU authorisation.

• EUV tooling (ASML EUV scanners and related subsystems) remains formally excluded, consistent with

the US policy of preventing China from accessing leading-edge lithography even at foreign-owned fabs.

• Samsung's Xi'an facility and SK Hynix's Wuxi facility together account for a significant share of

global NAND and DRAM production; the VEU safe harbour reduces supply-chain disruption risk for downstream consumer electronics manufacturers.

• This rule effectively codifies that the US intends to allow continued legacy and mid-node memory

production at these China facilities, while blocking any path to EUV-dependent next-generation nodes.

Open questions

• Whether subsequent tightening of VEU compliance obligations (e.g., enhanced end-use visit

requirements) would effectively narrow the scope of the authorisation in practice.

• Long-term trajectory: the 2025-09-02 VEU revocation (2025-09-02-us-bis-veu-revocation-china-fabs)

later revoked broader VEU authorisations — monitor whether Samsung and SK Hynix fall under that scope.