US claims China has ASML tool
RESTRICTION BREACH: ASML said that it denies ‘unfounded rumors regarding non-compliance with export controls concerning China,’ and enforces controls strictly
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in a series of recent meetings outlined concerns to Dutch chip-equipment giant ASML Holding NV’s senior leaders that one of its top-of-the-line machines might have made its way into China, in violation of US-led export restrictions.
In the meetings, Lutnick expressed concern to ASML executives over the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, people familiar with the talks said.
EUV systems are used by firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to manufacture processors for the likes of Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc.
ASML has never been allowed to ship them to China because of curbs imposed during the first administration of US President Donald Trump.
ASML has pushed back on Lutnick’s suggestion, saying that none of the tools — which are the size of a school bus, are manufactured in limited quantities and they require constant upkeep from ASML employees — are in China, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Asked about the meetings, a company spokesperson said that ASML talks with all governments and that it has never shipped an EUV machine to China.
The Commerce Department did not respond to multiple queries on the matter.
Multiple senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive matter, said they have evidence indicating that ASML is not acting in good faith — such as exports to China of gear specifically related to EUV tools, which ASML denied to Bloomberg.
The US officials, who did not comment on Lutnick’s meetings with ASML, declined multiple requests from Bloomberg for evidence of the shipments, citing the sensitivity of the information and sources.
They also declined to say whether they had seen evidence of an EUV system in China.
Persistent concerns from senior levels of the Trump administration — including a Cabinet official — add to pressure on Europe’s most valuable company, which has previously fielded allegations by US officials that its business activities undermine US national security and tech policies.
“ASML regularly engages in transparent and open dialogue with government leaders globally,” a company spokesperson said. “We recognize the national security considerations behind export control regulations in the US and the Netherlands, and we’re fully committed to complying with all applicable regulations.”
ASML has previously “refuted several unfounded rumors regarding non-compliance with export controls concerning China which were inaccurate and damaging to our reputation,” the spokesperson said.
A representative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Netherlands takes seriously the responsibility that comes with its “unique role in the semiconductor industry.”
The country also enforces restrictions on EUV tools and other exports “very strictly” and “always intervenes where necessary,” the representative said.
China’s lack of access to EUV tools is perhaps the single toughest constraint faced by artificial intelligence (AI) chip champion Huawei Technologies Co (華為) — the Asian country’s top rival to Nvidia.
Huawei’s top semiconductor executive touted the company’s innovations in making chips without ASML’s EUV machines in a rare English-language public appearance.
If an EUV system did make it to China, that would be among the biggest known violations of US-led curbs designed to limit Beijing’s access to AI that could benefit its military.
US claims China has ASML tool - Taipei Times
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