Electronics

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch, Japan and the Netherlands have reached an agreement with the United States to begin restricting the export of advanced process chip manufacturing equipment to China, and have taken measures with the Joe Biden government to try to cut off China's access to advanced technology.

A few days ago, senior national security officials from the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands reached the agreement at a meeting held in Washington. This is a progress made by the Biden government in its efforts to persuade allies to implement export controls on companies with key technologies, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch.

The Biden government decided in October 2022 to impose extensive export restrictions on advanced process chips and equipment in the United States. According to the regulation, American chip manufacturers must obtain permission from the Ministry of Commerce to export chips that are advanced in artificial intelligence computing and supercomputing.

Recently, Biden personally met with the leaders of Japan and the Netherlands to discuss relevant measures. During a visit to the White House on January 13th, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed with Biden the issue of restricting the export of chips and chip manufacturing equipment. On January 17th, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with Biden at the White House.

According to a new agreement reached last Friday, the Netherlands will prohibit lithography machine manufacturer ASML Holding NV from selling at least some immersion lithography machines to China, the company's most advanced category of deep UV lithography equipment. This device is crucial for making cutting-edge chips. According to people familiar with the matter, Japan will set similar restrictions on Nikon Corp., Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reported.

The support of the governments of Japan and the Netherlands is crucial to the success of U.S. export control policies, as a small number of semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturers in these two countries have a significant impact, including Asmart, Nikon, and Tokyo Electric Ltd. (8035. TO).

The recent meeting was chaired by Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, and attended by Takeo Akiba, the chief national security adviser to Toyoda, as well as Japanese and Dutch officials. Other participants from the United States included Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Affairs, and Tarun Chhabra of the National Security Council.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch, Japan's Minister of Economy and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday that Japan was discussing further export controls with the United States, but did not disclose details.

A representative of Nikon said that the company is conducting business in China within the allowable range and has not heard any news from the government about regulatory tightening. The company's production of lithographic machines for chip manufacturing may be affected by stricter controls.

A spokesman for Asme in the United States said that the company was aware of the agreement reached last Friday, but did not have more details, and said it was too early to assess the impact on the company.

Although allies such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea are increasingly cooperating closely with the United States in an attempt to delay China's technological progress, these countries have frequent business dealings with China and are very cautious in implementing export control policies. Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reports.