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From: ching@pepsi.amd.com (Mike Ching)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.att
Subject: Re: Dram Prices...
Message-ID: <24010@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: 10 Jan 89 03:59:28 GMT
References: <18814@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <6175@ecsvax.uncecs.edu> <2357@cuuxb.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@amdcad.AMD.COM
Reply-To: ching@pepsi.AMD.COM (Mike Ching)
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 39

In article <2357@cuuxb.ATT.COM> fmcgee@cuuxb.UUCP (Frank W. McGee) writes:
 >In article <6175@ecsvax.uncecs.edu> urjlew@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Rostyk Lewyckyj) writes:
 >>
 >>The US embargo is a knee-jerk reaction not well thought out
 >>and ineffective. THis is not to rule out embargoes in general,
 >>or even an embargo against Japanese electronics if properly
 >>coupled with other steps.
 >
 >I second this opinion.  It's been almost a year since the price of DRAM
 >went through the roof, and there still aren't any cheap US made chips.
 >I'd support the action if it had actually helped US industry, but
 >instead it has helped no one.  I think it's a classic example of the US
 >government stepping into a situation they knew nothing about, and
 >making it much worse than it originally was.
 >
 >As for the situation being "dangerous" because of defense reasons (ie,
 >DoD is dependent upon far eastern chip makers) I think that statement
 >doesn't hold much water either.  If the US couldn't re-tool to make
 >DRAMS in an emergency in under a few months, it has a lot worse
 >problems than chip dumping.
 >
 >-- 
 >Frank McGee
 >Tier 3 Indirect Channel Sales Support
 >attmail!fmcgee


I agree that the governments actions didn't help the DRAM situation but
the action also included EPROMs which was the next target market for the
Japanese. Semiconductor manufacturers lobbied for government help to protect
their future, not to regain a lost market. The US has "a lot worse problems
than chip dumping" by your definition because there is no way we could
retool in under a few months to produce DRAMs, especially since the precision
tool market is now dominated by the Japanese. We Americans are so inefficient
and incompetetant that we will eventually be relegated to jobs in the service
industries.

mike ching
Disclaimer: My opinion is probably shared by my employer.