Netherlands Releases New Chip Export Controls; ASML Expects 'No Material Impact'

The Netherlands last week published new export controls over certain advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a step aimed at bringing Dutch policies more closely in line with strict U.S. export licensing requirements against China. The measures, previewed by the government in March (see 2303090032), take effect Sept. 1 and will require exporters to apply for and receive an authorization before shipping a “number of very specific technologies for the development and manufacture of advanced semiconductors.”

The new measures were taken on “national security grounds,” said Liesje Schreinemacher, the Netherlands’ foreign trade minister. The government said the new policy is “country-neutral,” although the measures were formed after months of discussions with the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, which worked earlier this year to convince both the Dutch government and Japan (see 2303310031) to increase their chip-related controls for shipments destined to China.

“We’ve given careful consideration to this decision and drafted the ministerial order as precisely as possible,” Schreinemacher said. “That way, we can address the most important vulnerabilities without causing unnecessary disruption to the global manufacture of chips.”

The Netherlands said the restrictions will apply to certain advanced manufacturing equipment that produces semiconductors that are key “to certain advanced military applications.” The regulations include a table of items subject to the rules, including extreme ultraviolet “pellets,” certain lithographic equipment, equipment for “atomic layer deposition (ALD) of 'work' metals,” and software and technology “specially designed for the development, production or use” of those types of equipment, according to an unofficial translation.

License applications for exports of those items must include “data” about the goods, the recipient, the end user of the goods and the end use. The government may also “request additional information and documents,” including the “contract underlying the export, technical specifications or an end-use statement.”

The Netherlands said the restrictions are necessary because the country “plays an important role worldwide in the production of equipment for semiconductors” that can potentially be used “for the development of high-quality military (weapon) systems and weapons of mass destruction.”

“The Netherlands bears an extra responsibility in this regard because this country has a unique, leading position in this field,” the country said. It added it’s “necessary to be able to check in advance who the end user is and what the end use of the production equipment is” to “prevent possible unwanted applications of the goods and technology as much as possible.”

ASML, the Netherland’s leading chip equipment maker, said the new rules will require it to apply for export licenses “for all shipments” of its “most advanced immersion” deep ultraviolet lithography systems, including its “TWINSCAN NXT:2000i and subsequent immersion systems.” It said it can begin applying for license applications before the Sept. 1 effective date, and the Dutch government will “grant or deny these applications on a case-by-case basis.”

ASML also said it doesn’t expect the restrictions to have a “material impact on our financial outlook” for 2023 “or for our longer-term scenarios.” The company said it “will continue to comply with applicable export regulations, including Dutch, EU and US regulations.”