Dutch minister says she will fight for open trade in Davos chip panel discussion, as US pressure rises on export controls to China

Dutch foreign trade minister Liesje Schreinemacher said she will fight for “free trade” during a semiconductor panel discussion on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, amid recent US diplomatic pressure on countries to align with tighter tech controls on China.

Washington has been upping the pressure on various countries in the global semiconductor supply chain, including the Netherlands, to further limit the export of advanced chips and related US origin chip-making equipment to China to stem the country’s progress in the area.

The US has made the move in the name of national security, saying continued digitalisation of the Chinese military poses a threat to regional stability.

China has criticised the US controls as an attack on free trade and has even lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization.

“Obviously in order to have the [semiconductor] value chain still in place, we need open trade,” said Schreinemacher during a panel discussion on the lessons to be learned from semiconductor supply shocks.