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Electronics: China exports: chip supplier ASML under political pressure

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electronics
China exports: chip supplier ASML under political pressure

ASML has a virtual monopoly in advanced imaging systems. photo

© Peter Dejong/AP/dpa

The Dutch supplier ASML builds important machines for chip production. Customers in China also use the technology. The USA apparently sees this as a problem.

The chip industry supplier ASML was no longer able to supply chip manufacturing machines to some Chinese customers a few weeks before export restrictions were extended. The company in Veldhoven announced that a license for the delivery of certain lithography systems had been partially withdrawn by the Dutch government.

In discussions with the US authorities, the group also received further clarification on the scope and impact of US export restrictions. The withdrawal of the licenses will not have a material impact on the financial outlook for 2023, ASML said.

As the Bloomberg news agency reported on Tuesday night, citing insiders, the government of US President Joe Biden pushed for an early stop to deliveries. China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the US for using pretexts to force other countries to implement technology blockades against China. The US’s behavior “seriously” violates international trade rules and affects the stability of global supply chains, said Foreign Office spokesman Wang Wenbin in Beijing. The Netherlands should remain objective and respect “the spirit of the treaty”.

ASML’s technology can be used for military purposes

Since January 1st, certain export bans on so-called deep ultraviolet lithography machines (DUV) to China have been in effect in order to cut off the country from the supply of high-tech chips. The USA had previously pushed for a ban on the delivery of more modern exposure systems using so-called extreme ultraviolet technology (EUV) to China.

ASML is a very important company in the chip industry. The technology dispute between the USA and China has been weighing on investor sentiment around Europe’s most valuable listed technology group for a long time. ASML has a virtual monopoly in advanced imaging systems for chip production. Customers include the major chip manufacturers TSMC, Samsung and Intel. ASML’s technology can be used for the production of all semiconductors, for example for smartphones, but also for military purposes – with regard to China, the USA is particularly concerned about the latter.