SEOUL, Korea, December 14, 2002
hynix announced that the ITC preliminary investigation lays foundation for eventual victory. Although the ITC’s vote on Friday was to continue the case, the underlying ITC investigation shows that Micron cannot prove that is it injured by Korean DRAMs.
hynix says it is not surprised at all by the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision to make a preliminary affirmative injury determination in the U.S. DRAM anti-subsidy case. The vast majority — over 85% — of all the U.S. ITC’s preliminary determinations are affirmative. The reason is that the ITC makes its preliminary determination in very short time period — just 45 days after the petition is filed — and because the legal standard at this stage of the case is very low.
Under the law, the ITC must issue an affirmative preliminary determination, and allow the case to continue, as long as it finds only a “reasonable indication” of material injury by reason of the targeted imports. Because of this low standard and the quick time in which a preliminary decision must be made, in practice, the ITC will generally render an affirmative preliminary determination any time there is some confusion with respect to the facts that make it appropriate to allow the case to continue to a full investigation. Essentially, under the legal standard at this stage of the case, the petitioner (Micron) is given the benefit of the doubt.
For the ITC’s final determination, however, Micron will not be given the benefit of the doubt. Rather, for its final determination — expected in June — the ITC will hold Micron to a much higher standard. hynix fully expects that in its final ruling the ITC will render a negative determination. Once the ITC has time to examine properly all the relevant facts, hynix is confident that the ITC will agree that Micron cannot demonstrate that the U.S. “DRAM industry suffered material injury caused by allegedly subsidized shipments from Korea. “I have no doubt at all” says hynix CEO Sang Park “that at the end of its full investigation the ITC will conclude that Micron cannot prove its claims and will throw the case out.
