The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it has reached a $252 million settlement agreement with Applied Materials, a U.S. semiconductor equipment giant, for illegally exporting process equipment to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), a Chinese chip manufacturer. Applied Materials assembled and transferred ion implanters to China through South Korea's AMK company without applying for export licenses throughout the process. The amount involved in the case is approximately $126 million, and the fine, set at twice the amount involved, represents the maximum allowed by law.
