The Dutch government has revoked certain export licenses from chip manufacturer ASML for business with China. The background is allegations from the USA that Beijing is using the technology for military purposes.
The Dutch government has partially revoked an export license to supply some equipment to China, according to semiconductor manufacturer ASML. The company announced today that the reason was US export restrictions. The company said the revocation will impact a small number of customers in China.
According to ASML, this involves so-called lithography systems, for which export licenses have been partially withdrawn. The manufacturer dominates the market for these systems, which use lasers to create the circuits of chips.
China is an important market for ASML
Despite the license withdrawal and the recent US export restrictions, the company says it does not expect any material impact on its financial outlook.
China has been ASML’s third-largest market in recent years after Taiwan and South Korea, but reached the top spot in the third quarter of 2023 with 46 percent of sales.
Criticism from Beijing
As the Bloomberg news agency reported, the government of US President Joe Biden has pushed for an early stop to deliveries. China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the US for using a pretext to force other countries to implement technology blockades against China. The US’s behavior violated international trade rules and affected the stability of global supply chains, said Foreign Office spokesman Wang Wenbin in Beijing.
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.
Military use should be prevented
The Netherlands had already made it difficult to export certain machines for producing microchips to China in the past. This was necessary for national and international security. According to the government, the aim is to prevent military use by China and to protect the Netherlands’ position in such technologies.