Companies Balking at Submitting Info about Clients and Contracts
The U.S. government told semiconductor manufacturers and their clients, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, TSMC, Intel and Apple, to submit their confidential information by Nov. 8. What the South Korean companies are particularly concerned about are contract cancellation, product price fluctuations, and the possibility that the U.S. government may disclose their confidential information.
The information demanded by the U.S. government includes the types of chips that can be manufactured by each, monthly sales by product, client lists, inventory data, and their undersupply-related countermeasures.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reluctant to reveal their information related to clients and contracts. This is because disclosure of the confidential information showing their and their clients’ business strategies is likely to result in contract cancellation. In addition, disclosure of inventory data and production capacity data is likely to seriously affect price negotiations and market prices.
Although the U.S. government promised not to reveal the information, the companies are saying that the information is not shareable at all. “In the end, the U.S. government’s intention is to help U.S. companies grow by putting pressure on non-U.S. companies in the industry,” said an industry insider.
The South Korean companies are likely to decide how to respond while closely monitoring the situation. “Those individual companies cannot go against the U.S. government and the South Korean government needs to work together with them in order to minimize the damage,” the insider pointed out.