The United States may impose punitive import duties on chip shipments of South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor next week, dealing a fresh blow to the already struggling company, industry sources said.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is set to unveil a preliminary ruling on Monday over allegations lodged by Micron Technology that the U.S. chipmaker was materially injured by imports from South Korean chipmakers that received illegal state aid.

South Korea and Hynix have denied the claims.

A representative for the U.S. Commerce Department said the ruling would be made public on the agency's Web site on Tuesday. A Micron representative said the company did not have any comment.

The proposed duties could be crippling to Hynix, which posted huge consecutive losses in the past three years, analysts said. The move would force the chipmaker to deposit the duties to the U.S. Department of Commerce until final rulings are made on June 14.

Full Article:
CNet Tech News