The fight over who gets to sell advanced chipmaking gear to China is heating up — and this time a key US ally is pushing back.
According to Bloomberg (as flagged by Techmeme), the Netherlands is lobbying Washington not to expand its export controls on semiconductor equipment. The proposed tightening would constrain the ability of ASML Holding, the Dutch company that dominates the market for chipmaking machines, to sell its immersion DUV machines to China.
A quick primer: ASML is the world's most important supplier of the lithography equipment used to print circuits onto silicon. Its most advanced EUV machines are already largely off-limits to China. The dispute now centers on the older, more widely used immersion DUV machines — still essential tools that China can legally buy today, and a meaningful slice of ASML's business.
The broader picture, as TechCrunch frames it, is that Europe is pushing back on Washington's chip war. For years the US has steadily ratcheted up restrictions aimed at slowing China's access to cutting-edge chip technology, often leaning on allies like the Netherlands to fall in line. The Dutch lobbying effort signals that the alliance is no longer simply going along.
The sources here describe the Netherlands making its case to the US; they do not report a final decision or any new rules taking effect.
Why it matters: ASML sits at a strategic chokepoint of the global tech economy, so whether the Netherlands can resist US pressure will shape both the future of chip supply to China and how much say allies get in America's tech policy.