The trade minister announced in a letter that the export restrictions would be introduced before the summer.
(Photo: IMAGO/ANP)
Amsterdam For reasons of national security, the Netherlands wants to limit the export of semiconductor technology. This was announced by the government in The Hague on Wednesday.
This is the Netherlands’ response to US requests to restrict technology exports to China. The decision followed months of discussions between the Netherlands, the US and Japan.
The Washington government’s aim is to find allies for similar restrictions on trade with China as were introduced in the United States last October.
Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher announced in a letter to Parliament that the export restrictions would be introduced before the summer. Neither China nor ASML Holding NV, a leading supplier to semiconductor manufacturers, were named in the document.
According to the letter, an important technology for chip production developed by ASML, the so-called “DUV” lithography, should fall under the embargo. According to ASML, it has not yet sold its most modern “EUV” machines to China.
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ASML said it expects to have to apply for export licenses for the most modern machines in the future. However, this will hardly affect the forecast for business development this year.
The chip machine maker expects sales in China to remain roughly the same at EUR 2.2 billion in 2023. However, this means that business in China falls short of expectations for developments in other countries, because ASML wants to increase total sales by 25 percent this year.
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