The US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, has reportedly expressed concerns that Dutch semiconductor giant ASML may have illegally shipped an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine to China, a major violation of US export controls. These machines are critical for advanced chip manufacturing, and their transfer to restricted markets like China is banned.
ASML, however, stated it has "never shipped an EUV machine to China, nor have we shipped to China any component, module or equipment specially designed to be used in an EUV machine". The Netherlands government also affirmed strict enforcement of its licensing rules. Despite recent relaxations by Donald Trump on some US chip sales to China, Washington remains vigilant, also scrutinizing ASML's maintenance contracts and sales of deep ultraviolet (DUV) systems to China, which constitute up to one-fifth of ASML's revenue. The US previously mooted legislation to align allies' export controls, specifically naming ASML. China's lack of an EUV machine hinders its ambition to rival the US as a technology superpower, prompting efforts to develop its own, with a prototype reportedly built by former ASML engineers.
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