Chipmakers Urge White House to Avoid Market Interference

Imagine the people who build the world’s memory chips asking to be left alone. That is exactly what happened when Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron asked the White House not to step into pricing or capacity decisions that could reshape the memory market.

They made their case through industry group SEMI, warning US officials that heavy handed policies could do more harm than good. The message was blunt: meddling with prices or forcing production changes risks stretching a weak demand period into a prolonged slump.

Inside the industry's plea

SEMI did not show up empty handed. Instead of calling for direct government intervention, the group proposed demand boosting tools that try to avoid disturbing market signals. Two headline ideas: tax relief for buyers of electronic products and stronger support for long term supply contracts. Both aim to stimulate purchases without fiddling with chip prices or factory output.

Why that cautious approach? Memory makers say it takes years for new fabs to come online. Even as annual DDR memory capacity is expected to climb roughly 19 percent and new plants are being built, those factories do not solve an immediate mismatch between demand and supply. Patience is required. Time is also expensive.

And there is a looming twist. Demand for memory is increasingly driven by hyperscale AI deployments and data centers. Several executives at Samsung and SK Hynix warned that if buying patterns continue, demand could outpace supply, and shortages might persist into 2027 or beyond. That prospect changes the calculus for policymakers who want to shore up supply chains without causing price distortions.

So policy makers face a choice. Push for direct price or capacity measures and risk disrupting market signals, or use incentives to nudge demand now while the industry finishes capacity expansion over the longer term. The industry is making its preference clear.

The firms are saying bluntly: government meddling risks prolonging the downturn.