The Dutch government, adopting a similar action by the US, says it would impose limitations on the nation’s “most advanced” chip exports before the summer to safeguard its national security.
Technology created by ASML, a manufacturer of computer chip equipment, will be incorporated.
One of the most significant companies in the worldwide supply chain for microchips is ASML.
The US and China are embroiled in a nasty trade war over semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military weapons.
The sanctions will affect “particularly specific technology in the semiconductor production cycle,” the country’s commerce minister Liesje Schreinemacher said.
Without mentioning China or ASML, Ms. Schreinemacher continued that the Dutch government had taken “the technological changes and geopolitical environment” into account.
Companies would need to apply for licenses to export technologies including “the most advanced Deep Ultra Violet (DUV) immersion lithography and deposition,” according to the proposed regulations.
The restrictions are anticipated to apply to ASML’s “most sophisticated immersion DUV systems,” the company said in a statement.
According to today’s statement, our expectations for the licensing policy of the Dutch government, and the present market environment, the business continued, “We do not expect these actions to have a major impact on our financial outlook.”
As part of the process of making microchips, lithography machines use lasers to print tiny patterns on silicon.
Since 2019, ASML has been prohibited by the Dutch government from selling its most sophisticated lithography equipment to China.
No matter where in the globe the chips are produced, Washington stated in October that it would want licenses from businesses exporting them to China using US equipment or software.
The US has been pressuring Japan and the Netherlands to enact similar limitations.
The US ban on semiconductors has also drawn criticism from South Korea’s trade ministry this week.
The ministry stated that the South Korean government will make it clear that the terms of the Chips Act might increase economic uncertainty, infringe on companies’ management and intellectual property rights, and lessen the appeal of investing in the United States.
Several microprocessor producers, including Samsung, the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the world, are based in South Korea.
