London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

US, Netherlands in last-stretch talks on chip export blocks to China

US, Netherlands in last-stretch talks on chip export blocks to China

Dutch officials to fall in line with US in stopping China’s rise on tech.
U.S. and Dutch officials are meeting in Washington D.C. on Friday to strike a deal that would impose new export restrictions on key Dutch microchip technology to China.

A deal is within reach, unnamed sources told media ahead of the talks. But "discussions are ongoing" and there's "not really an idea on when there will be a result," Sean Silbert, a senior adviser at the Dutch embassy in Washington DC, told POLITICO in an email.

The agreement to limit advanced technology sales to China would be a major win for Washington in its efforts to stop the rise of China as a tech superpower. It would notably stop some of the sales of advanced microchip printing equipment by Dutch giant ASML, one of the few companies in the world to produce the printers needed to manufacture high-end semiconductors.

But a deal is expected to shake up relations between The Hague and other EU capitals, as it would create a parallel export controls regime between the U.S., the Netherlands and others that challenges the EU's common posture toward China.

The talks are happening in a "technical meeting" and also involve Japan, which controls other critical parts of the chip equipment market. Discussions have been ongoing for many months and ramped up when the U.S. imposed its own export restrictions on advanced chip technology to China in October.

News of the meeting was first reported by Reuters on Thursday.

The Netherlands is a key player in the U.S. strategy to cut off microchip supplies to China. Japan has signaled before it's willing to play along with the U.S., but the Netherlands has taken a more cautious line, well aware that a block of sales to China will hurt ASML's order book and longer-term strategy.

The U.S. has spent months wooing the Netherlands over the need to take a strong political line against China, according to three officials directly involved in those discussions. Washington has enticed The Hague by inviting it to host this year’s “Summit for Democracy,” an annual event started by the White House to boost democratic values worldwide.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte last week met with U.S. President Joe Biden, where they discussed how to "quite frankly, meet the challenges of China," the U.S. leader told reporters ahead of the meeting.

The export restrictions that are being considered would target some of ASML's so-called deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines. The restrictions would further tighten ASML's sales to China, after its exports of even more advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines failed to get the approval of Dutch authorities since 2019.

China represents 18 percent of ASML's order book, its Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen said in an interview in the margins of the firm's financial results this week. But a ban wouldn't be felt immediately because the demand for its machines globally still outweighs what the company can manufacture.

Part of the discussions between the U.S. and Dutch delegations has been about the threshold to define when chip technology is advanced, and thus strategically important.

In the industry, chips with single-digit nanometers are deemed to be more advanced than those with double-digit nanometers. EUV machines are best placed to manufacture those single-digit chips, but in some cases DUV machines can be "boosted" when combined with other technology, which raises their strategic value in the tug-of-war over chip technology.

ASML's Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink told reporters this week that he expected a deal "rather sooner than later," but that it would take "months" to clarify the details of a high-level agreement.
Comments

Oh ya 2 year ago
Yes China we want you to fill Wallymart with cheap plastic crap but not do anything we overlords deem not right as we want to stay on top of the pile even as out country and currency slips into the ditch, with Saudi dumping the petro dollar and the BRICS+ talking about a commodity backed currency which we can not compete with

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
×