The ASML Group is a key strategic player in the semiconductor supply chain: it is the only one that builds EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) machines that enable the manufacture of the most advanced chips. PETER DEJONG/AP
Under pressure from the United States, the Netherlands announced on Wednesday March 8th that it would curb exports of electronic chip manufacturing technology. The Benelux country is the European leader in the field of machines for the production of chips, these electronic components that are essential for the operation of smartphones, connected cars, but also military equipment.
“The government has concluded that it is necessary for international and national security to extend current export controls on materials used in the manufacture of certain semiconductors,” Dutch Foreign Minister Liesje Schreinemacher said in a letter to parliament on Wednesday.
The purpose of expanding these controls is to prevent any military use and to protect “the Netherlands’ unique and leading position” in these technologies, according to the government.
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The United States pushed for export restrictions after making such a decision itself in 2022. The Dutch government’s announcement comes less than two months after Prime Minister Mark Rutte and President Joe Biden met in Washington to discuss the issue.
Key players in the worldwide construction of microprocessors
The export restrictions are expected to affect the Dutch group ASML, Europe’s largest manufacturer of machines for the production of semiconductors.
The group is a key strategic player in the semiconductor supply chain: it is the only one to build the EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) machines that enable the production of the most advanced chips in the size of a bus. These are already listed in a multilateral agreement signed by around forty countries, including the United States and the Netherlands, which regulates the control of exports of civil-military dual-use technologies. Washington wants other ASML machines, older and called DUV (Deep Ultraviolet), which are essential for making chips in China, to be banned from export as well.
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On the occasion of the publication of its annual results in January, the group warned the governments to be “cautious” in the chip war between China and the USA. “We have to be careful that well-intentioned measures do not have unfortunate consequences,” said CEO Peter Wennink. ASML had reported a slight decline in net profit to 5.6 billion euros in 2022 and a jump in sales to 21.2 billion euros.
In February, ASML said it was investigating the misuse of confidential information about a patented technology by a former group employee in China. However, the company added that the leak was “not essential” to its business.
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In the name of national security, Washington has in recent months tightened sanctions against Chinese chipmakers now barred from sourcing American technology. Beijing on Tuesday accused Washington of stoking tensions between the two powers and warned of the risk of “conflict” and “confrontation”.