Tokyo Loosening Restrictions with Time
The Japanese government’s semiconductor and display material export curbs against South Korea, which started about three months ago, have failed to affect those industries of South Korea. In addition, the Japanese government is loosening the restrictions with time.
The Korea International Trade Association announced on Nov. 17 that South Korea’s photoresist, etching gas and fluorine polyimide imports from Japan totaled US$99,635,000 in the third quarter of this year, up 4.3 percent from a year ago.
During the period, the fluorine polyimide and photoresist imports increased 59.2 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively. The etching gas imports were zero in August and September, but the Japanese government recently issued an export permit.
For the first three quarters of this year, South Korea’s fluorine polyimide and photoresist imports from Japan increased from a year earlier. This is because South Korean semiconductor and display manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix placed orders in advance.
In the meantime, South Korea’s semiconductor exports to Japan decreased 18.5 percent with memory chip prices falling. However, Japan has increased its semiconductor imports from South Korea since August this year in the wake of Toshiba Memory’s power outage in June.