Dutch firm: US, allies near deal to limit chip tech to China

U.S., Dutch and Japanese officials are close to an agreement to limit China’s access to technology used to make computer chips, a Dutch semiconductor supply company confirmed Sunday.

ASML, a leading maker of semiconductor production equipment based in Veldhoven, Netherlands, said it was possible an agreement had already been reached but that it didn’t know any details about the deal or how it would affect ASML's business.

ASML is the world’s only producer of machines that use extreme ultraviolet lithography to make advanced semiconductor chips. The Dutch government has prohibited ASML from exporting that equipment to China since 2019, but the company had still been shipping lower-quality lithography systems to China.

The Biden administration in October imposed export controls to limit China’s ability to access advanced chips, which it says can be used to make weapons, commit human rights abuses and improve the speed and accuracy of its military logistics. It has urged allies like Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit.

China has responded angrily, saying trade curbs will disrupt supply chains and the global economic recovery.

“We hope the relevant countries will do the right thing and work together to uphold the multilateral trade regime and safeguard the stability of the global industrial and supply chains,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said this month. “This will also serve to protect their own long-term interests.”

ASML has research and manufacturing centers in Beijing and Shenzhen, China, as well as a regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that Dutch and Japanese officials were in Washington for talks led by President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan,...