ASMI is feeling pressure from the US to deliver to China

Dutch chip equipment maker ASMI has indicated that the US government is increasing pressure to not supply China with machinery for chip production. CEO Benjamin Lo says this in response to expected lower sales in the country in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to the CEO, the US government is putting considerable pressure on the Dutch and Japanese governments, He writes for the Financial Times. If America is up to it, countries will follow, just like America Recently imposed very strict export conditions To supply high-tech equipment to the Asian superpower.

According to ASMI’s CEO, the U.S. government is putting pressure on allies to prevent the multilateral decision from stopping the supply of chip-making machines to China.

Decrease in ASMI exports to China

ASMI has been hit hard by export restrictions. In A recent report Regarding expectations for the fourth quarter of this year, the chip machine maker expects exports to China to have already dropped 40 percent in October this year due to US restrictions. Looking ahead to the year 2022 as a whole, exports to the country will drop by 15 to 25 percent.

According to Lowe, these restrictions are already having major consequences for the company’s Chinese customers. He notes that customers currently have a very difficult time scraping together enough equipment for their production lines.

And, the CEO warns, US government restrictions have consequences for companies like ASMI. In particular, he warns, the measures could have consequences for the chip machine manufacturer’s production site in the US state of Arizona.

The approach of the Dutch government

It is not yet known whether the Dutch government is sensitive to following US sanctions. In an interview with NRC Liesje Schreinmaker, the minister responsible for foreign trade, says: “The Netherlands will not copy US export restrictions to China. We do our own assessment – we do this in consultation with partner countries like Japan and the US.

Reasons for this consideration include maintaining technological leadership, preventing strategic dependencies and combating unnecessary use of technology. According to Schreinemacher, open trade is important, but not at all costs. He notes that the Netherlands will be very critical about which countries can exchange which goods.

Tip: The Netherlands and the US are negotiating new Chinese export bans