ASML has secured a license to export three high-end extreme ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines to China until January 2024, when the new Dutch regulations take effect. However, according to Bloomberg , US officials have approached ASML to request that it immediately halt shipments to Chinese customers.

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ASML headquarters and factory in Veldhoven, Netherlands. (Photo: Bloomberg)

The Biden administration is looking to crack down on Beijing’s efforts to create its own advanced semiconductor industry. The US and its allies are looking to block China’s access to imported chip technology. In 2023, Huawei will launch its latest smartphone with chips made on ASML printers.

ASML confirmed that the Dutch government had partially revoked licenses for the shipment of some lithography machines to China, affecting a small number of mainland customers. In a statement, ASML said it had recently spoken to the US about the scope and impact of the export control measures.

According to Bloomberg, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called the Dutch government about the issue in late 2023, but Dutch officials suggested the US contact ASML directly. The shipment containing some of the machines was subsequently destroyed at the request of the US, although it is unclear how many pieces of equipment were affected.

The US began pressuring ASML in 2019, when the Trump administration pushed the Dutch government to ban sales to China of its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. ASML is the only company in the world that makes the technology, which is used to make semiconductors in everything from smartphones to sophisticated military weapons.

Under Biden, the Dutch government tightened export controls to China in 2023, banning the sale of DUV printers – the second most advanced after EUV – from January 1, 2024. China has been stockpiling DUV printers ever since.

China’s imports of lithography machines increased more than fivefold to $3.7 billion from July to November 2023, according to Chinese customs data. China accounted for nearly half of ASML’s sales in the third quarter of last year, compared with 24% in the previous quarter and 8% in the first three months of 2023.

In October 2023, ASML CEO Peter Wennink said the new export restrictions would affect up to 15% of the company's revenue in China.

He has publicly opposed the export ban and warned that it would encourage China to develop competitive technology. “The more pressure you put on them, the more they will try,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News last year.

(According to Bloomberg)