White House Is Trying To Stop Netherlands From Selling Chips To China

The Trump administration is trying to stop the Dutch government from selling advanced chip manufacturing technology to China, according to Reuters.

What Happened

In an attempt to prevent China from accessing advanced chip manufacturing technology, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in talks with the Dutch government, and White House officials are sharing a classified intelligence report with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, sources told Reuters.

Why It Matters

The U.S. lobbying started in 2018 after the Netherlands government allowed ASML Holding NV ASMLF, a leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer, to sell its most advanced machine to a Chinese client.

Since then, at least four rounds of talks held between the U.S. and Dutch officials over the issue of blocking the sale of the chip technology to China, three sources told Reuters.

Charles Kupperman, the U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump, first raised the issue on July 18 during Prime Minister Rutte’s White House visit.  

At the time, U.S officials shared with Rutte an intelligence report that shows the potential repercussions of China getting hold of ASML’s technology, a former U.S. government official told Reuters.

Under mounting pressure from the U.S, Dutch chip maker delayed delivery of its shipment to China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation SMICY in November, the Nikkei Asian Review reported at the time.