Dutch officials are planning to enforce new controls on exports of chip-making equipment to China, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report on Wednesday comes after Dutch trade minister Liesje Schreinemacher last month said the Netherlands was in talks with the US government about new export restrictions for semiconductor equipment to China.
Under pressure from the US, the Dutch government since 2018 has not allowed the country’s largest company, semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holdings, licences to ship its most advanced machines to China because they are considered “dual use” with potential military applications.
ASML is a key maker of semiconductor equipment, with more than €2-billion of sales to customers in China in 2021.
According to Bloomberg, an agreement regarding the Dutch curbs on chip exports could come as soon as next month, adding that it was unclear what the new restrictions would mean for ASML’s sales to China.
China is the Netherlands’ second largest trading partner after Germany, according to the Dutch statistics office CBS.
The Biden administration in early October published a sweeping set of export controls, including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US tools.
The Dutch ministry of foreign affairs and the White House’s National Security Council declined to comment. — Kanjyik Ghosh, (c) 2022 Reuters
