Europe opposes U.S. chip export controls targeting China
Original: Europe is pushing back on Washington’s chip war
Why This Matters
ASML controls critical AI chip production technology; U.S.-Europe trade tensions over semiconductor export controls affect global tech supply chains.
Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma visited Washington to oppose the MATCH Act, which would restrict Chinese chipmakers from accessing Western semiconductor equipment. The bill would severely impact ASML, Europe's most valuable company and sole maker of advanced lithography machines for AI chips, which derives 19% of sales from China.
Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma traveled to Washington this week to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and members of Congress to oppose the MATCH Act, a proposed bill that would restrict Chinese chipmakers' access to Western semiconductor equipment. ASML, the Netherlands-based company and Europe's most valuable enterprise, is the only global manufacturer of sophisticated lithography machines used to produce cutting-edge AI chips. China currently accounts for 19% of ASML's net system sales. The MATCH Act, introduced in April, would extend export controls beyond existing restrictions on advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tools to also cover ASML's deep ultraviolet immersion machines—equipment that is roughly a decade old. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet previously stated that China's current purchases are limited to these older-generation deep ultraviolet tools, which the proposed legislation would now prohibit. Sjoerdsma told Bloomberg after the meetings: "It's exceptional that I'm coming here to broadly outline our concerns to Congress. The stakes for the Netherlands may be very high." The bill has not yet faced a full House or Senate vote and would likely need to be incorporated into a larger legislative package to advance.