Demand to accelerate storage production expansion in the US, US Commerce Secretary pressures Samsung and SK Hynix

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick publicly pressured Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, urging the two South Korean memory chip giants to accelerate capacity expansion in the U.S. to address the global memory chip shortage.

On July 10, according to Bloomberg, Lutnick made the remarks at an event hosted by Micron Technology and confirmed that discussions have been initiated with the two Korean companies, but did not disclose details. He made it clear that the goal is to bring Samsung and SK Hynix to build factories on U.S. soil, thereby strengthening the resilience of the U.S. chip supply chain.

Meanwhile, Micron announced on the same day that it had raised its U.S. investment plan to a cumulative $250 billion by 2035, a move that boosted Micron's stock price by more than 9% intraday, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 250%.

The timing of the remarks is sensitive. SK Hynix is preparing to list on a U.S. exchange, with its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) set to begin trading this Friday (July 10). Based on the latest closing price in Seoul, the IPO is expected to raise nearly $27 billion, proceeds of which will be used to expand capacity. Samsung and SK Hynix plan to invest a combined $880 billion over the next several years to build new plants to meet surging AI-driven memory demand.

Pressuring Korean giants to strengthen U.S. supply chain

According to reports, Lutnick spoke outside Micron’s new facility near Syracuse, New York, explicitly naming Samsung and SK Hynix, stating that he wants to bring these two competitors to build factories in the U.S.

He acknowledged that Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra may not be thrilled, but emphasized that supply chain security is a higher strategic priority than any single company's commercial interests.

"He may not like it, but I want to bring his competitors — Samsung and SK Hynix — to the U.S. to build factories," Lutnick said. "Micron is leading; others will be envious, and they have to keep up."

The report noted that Micron on the same day raised its total U.S. investment target to $250 billion by 2035, a significant increase from previous plans. Lutnick gave high praise, saying the U.S. needs to protect quality companies that invest their intellectual property domestically, and expressed hope that Micron would 'build as fast as possible.'

Boosted by the news, Micron's stock rose as much as 9.1% intraday to $1,035.50 per share, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 250%, the best performance among U.S. semiconductor peers.

The explosive growth of AI infrastructure has triggered a global memory chip supply shortage, affecting downstream industries such as consumer electronics and automobile manufacturing. Apple recently raised prices across its entire Mac, iPad, home devices, and Vision Pro lineups, partly attributing the increase to rising memory costs.

Analysts point out that against this backdrop, Lutnick's pressure carries a stronger policy signal — the U.S. government is attempting to reshape the memory chip supply chain landscape by attracting foreign investment in factory building while supporting domestic champions, in order to reduce reliance on overseas capacity.

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