The Dutch government announced on Wednesday its intention to limit exports of semiconductor technology to China "to protect its national security." The measure marks another move in the race for chip dominance, in which it has leading companies, and is in line with previous US decisions.
According to a letter sent to Parliament by Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher, the measure will come into force before the summer. Although China is not specifically mentioned in the letter, it is assumed that it will be the most affected.
The Netherlands is home to real giants in the sector, with the manufacturer of machinery to produce ASML chips leading the way. ASML dominates the market for extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, a technology that costs millions of euros and uses powerful lasers to create the chip circuitry. Since 2014, it has sold this type of machine worth 8,000 million to China.
In October, the US imposed restrictions on the export of machinery to produce chips to China, but for it to be fully effective it needed other key players such as the Netherlands itself or Japan to join, something they have been discussing for months. As explained in the letter, a control list of technological goods will be established when it is "necessary for reasons of national security." In any case, it is stated that the measures will be taken "as carefully and precisely as possible, to avoid the disruption of value chains."
"We firmly oppose the interference and restriction of the Netherlands to normal economic and commercial exchanges between Chinese and Dutch companies," Mao Ning, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, reacted this Thursday from China. "We hope the Netherlands will adhere to an objective and fair position, not following the abuse of export control measures by certain countries (referring to the US)," added Ning. The Asian country calls the US "hegemonic" for controlling exports and its intention for more nations to join it.
