Cutting-edge chipmaking machines from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML have been banned from exporting to China, the company reported, amid US pressure in the strategic sector.
ASML said in a statement on Monday that the Dutch government had recently revoked a license to ship some of its machines, “which would impact a small number of customers in China” of ASML, a key player in construction. world of microprocessors.
Used in everything from weapons to cars to refrigerators, microchips power the modern global economy.
The Netherlands recently joined the United States and Japan in imposing export limits on advanced chipmaking equipment, aimed at China-US Cold War over microchips that could be used in weapons and high technologies. In October, Washington announced additional restrictions on exports of cutting-edge AI chips to China, sparking fury from Beijing.
Citing unnamed sources, financial news agency Bloomberg reported that U.S. officials contacted the Dutch government and ASML late last year to try to block shipments.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday lambasted what he called “intimidating behavior” from Washington. Such action “seriously violates international trade rules, seriously undermines the configuration of the global semiconductor industry, and has serious consequences for the security and stability of international industrial and supply chains,” he said. he added.
ASML said the export restrictions would not have a “material impact” on its financial outlook. However, the company’s shares fell 1.6% at the opening of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, while the AEX index was higher.
Amid trade tensions with China, there are also fears that Beijing will introduce its own export controls on gallium and germanium, two rare metals essential for semiconductor manufacturing.
China announced last month that it would stop the export of a series of rare earth metal processing technologies. Mr. Wang warned that the United States would “inevitably suffer the consequences of its own actions.”
