
US to join Japan, Netherlands in China Chip Export Controls
The United States is leading measures to regulate semiconductor exports to China, and the Netherlands and Japan are about to join in. Bloomberg reports that talks among Us, Danish, and Japanese authorities to set up additional restrictions on what can be sold to Chinese corporations are about to come to a close.
The intention, according to the report, is to undermine Beijing's efforts to produce domestic semiconductor technology. Export restrictions will apply to both the Dutch company ASML Holding HV as well as the Japanese company Nikon for their deep ultraviolet lithography equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductor chips.
The joint initiative is an expansion of US President Joe Biden's plan to impose restrictions on Chinese semiconductor manufacture, which is used in military artificial intelligence and machine learning and will have repercussions for the mobile technology industry as well.
The Dutch and Japanese governments have reexamined the conditions for which ASML and Tokyo Electron output equipment to China in response to worries raised by US equipment manufacturers.
When the news first surfaced, Tokyo Electron, which had previously provided China chip-making equipment, suffered a roughly 1% decline in its stock price.
The semiconductor market in China also experienced a decrease. Hua Hong Semiconductor saw losses rise to 1.5%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International in Shanghai saw failures rise to 2.1%.
Additionally, the Chinese government has retaliated against the US. Beijing submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization in December in an effort to overturn US export restrictions, CNBC reported on December 13.
Bloomberg claims that even though Japan and the Netherlands don't reach the extent of US sanctions against China, their combined impact will further cut off Beijing from the knowledge required to make cutting-edge semiconductors.
The majority of semiconductor equipment producers are based in the United States. Meanwhile, Dutch and Japanese companies dominate the marketplace for the technology required to produce these electronic components. Without all three, China's IT companies might find it difficult to set up advanced chip manufacturing assembly lines.
In an effort to curb Beijing's technological and military progress, the Biden administration slapped a lengthy list of export restrictions on China. According to Reuters, on October 10, it also prohibited its citizens from working for Chinese chip manufacturing companies and hindered the export of equipment built in the United States.