Washington – U.S. Senators Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today introduced a resolution calling for the Federal government to continue to encourage semiconductor trade between Korea and the United States, citing the importance of Eugene’s Hynix manufacturing plant and its 1,200 local jobs to the Oregon economy. Eugene’s Hynix plant is a U.S. subsidiary of Korea’s Hynix Manufacturing, Inc., a major global producer of semiconductors. An ongoing trade dispute has charged incorrectly that the Eugene plant’s semiconductors should be counted as imports rather than as U.S. manufactures. A finding against Hynix could result in the loss of its much-needed jobs in Eugene, although the U.S. Department of Commerce has previously recognized that Hynix products are domestic. Wyden and Smith are calling on the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to support continued good relations between the U.S. and Korea in the area of semiconductor manufacturing.

“As our economy struggles towards recovery, we need to embrace policies that create jobs, not eliminate them,” said Smith. “The U.S. should encourage, not discourage investment in communities like Eugene where family-wage jobs are much needed.”

“At a time when Oregon has the second-highest unemployment in the nation, the Federal government needs to encourage the growth of global partnerships that provide manufacturing jobs in communities like Eugene,” said Wyden. “America’s working families need the Federal government in their corner to help create jobs, not to scare them away with unfounded charges.”

Hynix Manufacturing, Inc. has invested more than $1 billion in its manufacturing facilities in Eugene, and the company has ongoing commitments to increase that investment. The Smith-Wyden resolution specifically calls on the Federal government to refrain from activities that would cause political or economic tensions between the U.S. and Korea in the area of semiconductor trade, as well as to carefully consider all the facts of the case surrounding the current trade dispute.

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