The United States and the Netherlands will impose additional restrictions on the sale of microchip-manufacturing equipment. This move fits into the context of the so-called “chip war” that has already begun under the Trump administration.
The main characters are the Dutch company ASML and the American companies Lam Research and Applied Materials, which, following the directives of Washington, imposed restrictions on exports to China last fall. Japan, another major manufacturer in this field, has also restricted the export of various types of technology that could be used in semiconductor manufacturing.
In practice, using sophisticated equipment from ASML, the largest European company in the industry, requires a special license. For international and national security reasons, this excludes the export of technologies that could also be used by the military industry to China.