US Reportedly Concludes Talks With Japan, Netherlands on New Chip Controls

Japan and the Netherlands will soon join the U.S. in imposing export restrictions on certain advanced semiconductor machinery destined to China, Bloomberg reported Jan. 26. Although the three countries have been discussing the controls for months, the report said talks were expected to conclude Jan. 27 and would result in new, expanded Dutch restrictions on ASML and new Japanese controls on Nikon. The Netherlands will prevent ASML from selling “at least some” of its deep ultraviolet lithography machines to China (see 2301250022), with Japan setting “similar limits” on Nikon, the report said, adding that the countries haven’t yet decided on a date for a public announcement.

The White House didn’t comment. The U.S. in recent months has pushed the Dutch and Japanese governments to impose more strict export controls on chip-related sales to China (see 2212050056, 2301170015 and 2301180022), including restrictions that align closely with the Commerce Department’s October chip rule (see 2210070049).