FACT SHEET

Preliminary Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation:
Dynamic Random Access Memory Semiconductors (DRAMS) from the Republic of Korea

On Tuesday, April 1, 2003, the Department of Commerce (the Department) announced its affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on imports of DRAMS from Korea. The Department has preliminarily found that imports of DRAMS during the period of investigation (January 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002) were unfairly subsidized, with net subsidy rates ranging from 0.16 (de minimis) to 57.37 percent. The Department's Notice of Preliminary Determination can be found on Import Administration's website: http://ia.ita.doc.gov by the close of business, April 1, 2003.

We have invited interested parties to provide their comments on our preliminary determination, and will consider those comments, along with the facts on the record of the investigation, in making our final determination, currently scheduled for June 16, 2003. If the Department makes a final affirmative determination, and the International Trade Commission makes a final determination that imports of DRAMS from Korea are materially injuring, or threatening to materially injure, the domestic industry, the Department will issue a countervailing duty order.

Petitioner: The investigation was initiated on November 21, 2002, based on a petition filed by Micron Technology, Inc. of Boise, Idaho.

Product Description: The products covered by this investigation are Dynamic Random Access Memory devices from Korea, whether assembled or unassembled. Assembled DRAMs include all package types. Unassembled DRAMs include processed wafers, uncut die, and cut die. Processed wafers fabricated in Korea, but assembled into finished semiconductors outside Korea are included in the scope. Processed wafers fabricated outside Korea and assembled into finished semiconductors in Korea are not included in the scope. The scope of this investigation also includes memory modules containing DRAMs from Korea. A memory module is a collection of DRAMs, the sole function of which is memory. The scope of this investigation does not include DRAMs or memory modules that are re-imported for repair or replacement. Additional information regarding the scope of this investigation is included in our Notice of Preliminary Determination.

The DRAMs subject to this investigation are currently classifiable under subheadings 8542.21.8005 and 8542.21.8021 through 8542.21.8029 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The memory modules containing DRAMs from Korea are currently classifiable under subheadings 8473.30.10.40 or 8473.30.10.80 of the HTSUS. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, our written description of the scope of this investigation remains dispositive.