- Agreement Finalized by Representatives from the United States, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and the European Commission Key to Long-Term Growth of Semiconductor Industry -
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Nov. 3, 2005 - AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced
support for the draft agreement finalized at the Governments/Authorities
Meeting on semiconductors (GAMS) in Seoul, Korea that is intended to
eliminate duties on multi-chip package integrated circuits beginning on
January 1, 2006. MCPs combine multiple pieces of silicon within a
single package, and are used in a variety of products from cell phones
to personal digital assistants.
"Free and open trade and competition are vital to ensure the power and
benefits of information technology are broadly available to consumers
around the world," said Hector Ruiz, AMD chairman, president, and CEO.
"We congratulate Ambassador Portman and his United States Trade
Representative team on the MCP agreement, which helps maintain open
markets for semiconductor products."
Semiconductors are covered by the Information Technology Agreement (ITA)
and thus are duty-free in much of the world. However, an evolution in
the packaging of certain semiconductor devices allowed for the inclusion
of more than one silicon chip inside each package. This technological
advance resulted in a classification of MCPs by certain customs
authorities into a category that was no longer duty-free. As a result
of the reclassification, the U.S., Korea, and European Union imposed
duties on these semiconductor products.
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