The Dutch government stopped the delivery of ASML machines to China

This article was last updated on January 2, 2024

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The Dutch government recently banned chip machine maker ASML from sending some deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines to China.

The Dutch government recently banned chip machine maker ASML from sending some deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines to China. The export license for these advanced machines, which cost 80 to 90 million each, was withdrawn under American pressure.

The Ban Decision

The ban is remarkable because a ban on supplying these high-quality chip machines to China only came into effect on January 1. In a press release, ASML reports, without mentioning an exact date, that it was “partially” withdrawn by the Dutch government in 2023.

A “small number of customers” in China are said to have not received machines due to the early export ban. Exact numbers of machines and customers are not mentioned.

‘No impact on profits’

ASML became last year confronted with measures by the United States and Europe to counter China’s technological development. The company from Veldhoven is therefore allowed to supply fewer chip machines to China. ASML was not allowed to supply the most advanced machines (the EUVs) to China anyway. These machines cost more than 150 million euros each.

It turned out in October from quarterly figures that customers in China quickly purchased machines from ASML before the new sanctions came into effect at the turn of the year.

In the press statement, ASML says that the early ban will have no consequences for the profit figures for 2023. The company also says that it has received more clarity from recent discussions with the US about the export ban on DUV machines to China. “We fully cooperate with all laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate,” the company emphasizes.

China’s Response

China is not happy with the early ban on DUV machines. In a response to the Reuters news agency, the Netherlands is called on to “respect the law”.