We consider two models for the etching processes using numerical simulations based on cellular-automata discrete-lattice approach. In one model we use a uniform etching probability for each surface site. In another model the etching probability at a given site depends on the local environment of this site. In contrast to the first model we have now a non-local description of the surface evolution. It is natural to consider the following question: is this non-locality sufficient to induce new physics? To answer this question is the main goal of the paper. We show that there exists an equivalence between the two models. This means that the non-local model gives results similar to the local one provided we use an effective value of the etching probability.

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