Dutch respond to US-China policy with own plan to curb semiconductor tech exports
- The US has held months of talks with the Dutch and Japanese governments to get them to adopt restrictions to hobble China’s ability to make advanced chips
- A letter from the Dutch trade minister to parliament says the rules will be introduced before the summer
The Netherlands’ government on Wednesday said it plans to restrict exports of semiconductor technology to protect national security, in the Dutch answer to US moves last year to restrict chip exports to China.
The move follows months of discussions between the Netherlands, the US and Japan, in which Washington has tried to get allies to adopt similar restrictions to those it introduced in October aimed at hobbling China’s ability to make semiconductors and to slow its military advances.
Dutch Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher announced the decision in a letter to parliament, saying the restrictions will be introduced before the summer.
The letter did not name China, a key Dutch trading partner, nor did it name ASML Holding, a major equipment supplier to semiconductor manufacturers, but both will be affected.
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It named an important ASML technology known as deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, used in manufacturing semiconductors.
“Because the Netherlands considers it necessary on national security grounds to get this technology into oversight with the greatest of speed, the cabinet will introduce a national list,” the letter said.
ASML said it expects to have to apply for licenses to export the most advanced segment among its DUV machines, but that would not impact its 2023 financial guidance.
The company has said it expects sales in China to remain approximately flat at €2.2 billion (US$2.3 billion) in 2023 – implying relative shrinkage as the company expects overall sales to grow by 25 per cent.
ASML has never sold its most advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to customers in China.
