The Dutch government says companies that make machines that make advanced semiconductor processor chips will need an export license before selling them abroad from September.
ByMike Corder Associated Press
FILE – The logo of ASML, a leading maker of semiconductor production equipment, hangs at the head office in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, January 30, 2023. Dutch companies – notably ASML – that make machines that make advanced processor chips will have to obtain an export license before they can be exported overseas starting in September, the government announced on Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter DeJong, File)
The Associated Press
The Hague, Netherlands — Dutch companies that make machines that make advanced semiconductor processor chips will need an export license before selling them abroad from September, the government announced on Friday.
The new measure, which was first announced in March, is “country neutral,” the government said. But it is seen as part of a US policy aimed at restricting China’s access to materials used to make chips that could be used in military technology. This requirement will particularly affect Dutch company ASML, the world’s only maker of machines that use extreme ultraviolet lithography to make advanced semiconductor chips. The Dutch government has banned the Veldhoven-based company from exporting some of its machines to China since 2019.
″We have taken this step in the interest of our national security. It is good that the companies concerned now know where they stand. That way they can adapt to the new rules in time,” Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Minister Lisje Schreinmacher said in a statement.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met US President Joe Biden in January for talks that included discussions about ASML’s advanced chip machines.
The Biden administration in October imposed export controls to limit China’s access to advanced chips, which it says is used to manufacture weapons, abuse human rights and improve the speed and accuracy of its military logistics May go. It also urged allies such as Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit.
In a statement on its Dutch embassy website, China described the new measures as “wholly unreasonable and untenable”.
It added that such sanctions “would not only harm the legitimate rights of Chinese companies, but also Dutch companies, destabilize global industrial and supply chains, and damage the Netherlands’ good reputation in supporting free trade.” Will deliver.”
ASML, which is headquartered in the southern Dutch city of Veldhoven, continues to ship low-quality chip lithography systems to China despite government restrictions on advanced machines.
The company said in a statement that it will now have to apply for an export license for all shipments of its most advanced deep ultraviolet lithography systems.
“The Dutch government will determine whether the necessary export licenses are granted or denied and the company will provide further details on any conditions that may apply,” ASML said. The company said it does not expect the sanctions “to have a material impact on our financial outlook.”
Schreinmacher said the restrictions were carefully considered and kept as precise as possible.
“This way we can address the most critical vulnerabilities without unnecessarily disrupting global production of chips,” he added.
