Recently, the U.S. Congress proposed a bill aimed at coordinating efforts among U.S. allies in implementing export controls targeting China, which has raised concerns among the Dutch government. According to a report by Bloomberg on June 24th, Dutch officials are lobbying in the United States, hoping to persuade the U.S. not to expand export controls on semiconductor equipment, and to let the Netherlands decide whether to impose restrictions itself.
In April, members of both parties in the U.S. Congress proposed the "Hardware Technology Control Multilateral Cooperation Act" (MATCH Act). The plan involves establishing mechanisms to force U.S. allies to simultaneously restrict exports to China, thereby increasing the difficulty for Chinese chip manufacturers to produce artificial intelligence chips. The Dutch government criticized this act as having "extraterritorial effects," which restricts the sovereign trade policies of other countries.
On June 23 local time, Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Schilders-Mercado, visited the United States capital of Washington. He met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rick Lutey and U.S. Congress members, attempting to persuade American officials to abandon this measure.
Schulzma said after the meeting: "It is very rare for me to come here specifically to fully express our concerns to the US Congress. We do this because these concerns are very important, and they are significant for the Netherlands."
He told Bloomberg that the Dutch government wants to prevent ‘sensitive technologies’ from entering areas that could pose a threat to Dutch security. However, this must be done on a voluntary basis. ‘If it involves cross-border and transatlantic coercion, then as a country, we should make our own decisions. Therefore, this is something we regret deeply.’
Scheerzma revealed that the Dutch government will hold a series of meetings in Washington, urging American officials to reconsider the MATCH bill.
Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Schold Scheltsma. Dutch News Agency
Bloomberg noted that the U.S. government has restricted the export of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines from Dutch lithography giant ASML to China, and has imposed certain restrictions on Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines. However, the MATCH Act seeks to further expand the scope of restrictions, aiming to include all DUV lithography equipment from ASML in the list of restricted items.
As ASML is the company with the highest market value in Europe, the Dutch government is strongly protecting ASML. The MATCH bill has caused strong opposition from the Netherlands. The Chinese market is one of ASML's most important markets, accounting for 19% of the company's net equipment sales in the first quarter of this year, but this figure was lower than 36% in the previous quarter.
The MATCH Act has not yet been voted on by both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the United States. Bloomberg states that unless this act is included in larger bills such as the Defense Authorization Act, it is unlikely to receive approval independently.
Regarding the situation where the United States is coercing the Netherlands to impose a technological blockade on China, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously stated that China has always opposed the US tendency to generalize national security concepts and using various pretexts to coerce other countries into imposing technological blockades against China. The semiconductor industry is highly globalized. In the context of deep economic integration among nations, the US's overbearing and bullying actions seriously violate international trade rules, severely undermine the global semiconductor industry landscape, and pose a threat to the safety and stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain. Such actions will inevitably have negative consequences for the US itself.
The Chinese side urges the Dutch side to adopt an objective and fair stance and market principles, respect the spirit of contracts, and take practical actions to safeguard the common interests of China and the Netherlands, as well as those of their enterprises. It also aims to maintain the stability of the international industrial and supply chains, and a free, open, fair, and non-discriminatory international trade environment. The Chinese side will closely monitor any related developments and will resolutely defend its own legal rights and interests.
