Micron Technology Inc, the world's second-largest maker of personal-computer memory chips, asked the US to set duties on chip imports from South Korea, saying the Korean government illegally subsidizes producers.
The Boise, Idaho-based Micron said multibillion-dollar government bailouts and subsidized loans to companies such as Hynix Semiconductor Inc. violate global trade rules and have caused injury to Micron. It filed the case with the US Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission, a US agency that measures the impact of trade.
"We lost more than a billion dollars last year," said Micron spokesman Sean Mahoney. "That's how much injury has been caused."
Micron filed the case against the South Korean government after its US$3 billion bid to buy Hynix earlier this year was rejected by the Korean company's board. Hynix is the third-largest personal-computer chipmaker. Korea's Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest.
Micron shares rose today US$0.80, or 5 percent, to US$16.80 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Micron's Mahoney said Commerce and the trade commission will decide whether to take the case. If they accept it, Commerce will investigate whether subsidies exist and at what level.
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