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Dutch cozy up to US with controls on exporting microchip kit to China
New export controls hitting ASML fit tougher European line on trading with China.
New export controls hitting ASML fit tougher European line on trading with China.
The measures also put a target on the back of Dutch semiconductor champion ASML — Europe's highest-valued tech company with a market value of around €240 billion | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Image
BRUSSELS — The Netherlands on Friday started enforcing new export controls restrictions on advanced microchips production machines to China, siding with Washington in the geopolitical tussle over who controls the critical technology.
The export controls, part of a three-way deal between the United States, Netherlands and Japan at the start of the year, affect advanced microchips printing equipment. "Uncontrolled export [of the equipment] can have risks for the public security," the Dutch regulation said.
The Dutch rules come in support of a U.S.-led strategy to choke off China from critical parts of the supply chain needed to manufacture high-end microchips used in consumer electronics, computing and other domains — including military applications. "It's necessary to check in advance who's the end user and what the end use is of the production equipment," the Dutch advocate in the regulation.
But the measures also put a target on the back of Dutch semiconductor champion ASML — Europe's highest-valued tech company with a market value of around €240 billion — and have caused critics in Europe to accuse the Dutch government of bowing to U.S. pressure too easily.
ASML already faced restrictions on the export of its most advanced machines, which use extreme ultraviolet light (EUV). The new rules require the company to apply for a permit for at least three types of its machines that use less advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV). The government expects about 20 annual applications in total for a permit because of the additional DUV restrictions.
