Samsung and SK Hynix will secure formal exemption or reduced tariff treatment under Washington's semiconductor tariff offset programme within six months without pledging a single new dollar of US investment.

The Korean presidential office has announced it is negotiating with Washington over semiconductor tariffs on Korean firms, but the White House's own January proclamation already promises preferential treatment for firms investing in US chip production, and both companies already run large scale US operations. The story is not a fresh capital expenditure race but a bureaucratic qualification process built on investments both firms made years ago.