Netherlands fights US bill threatening €5.6B in ASML China sales

The Netherlands is pushing back against a US bill that would bar ASML from selling older-generation chipmaking tools to China, threatening €5.6 billion in annual revenue for Europe's most valuable technology company. Dutch minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma met Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and members of Congress in Washington on June 23 to voice opposition to the MATCH Act.

"It's exceptional that I'm here to broadly outline our concerns to Congress," Sjoerdsma told Bloomberg after the meetings. "The stakes for the Netherlands may be very high."

The MATCH Act, introduced in April, would extend export restrictions to ASML's deep ultraviolet immersion machines — equipment first shipped about a decade ago — on top of the existing ban on extreme ultraviolet tools. China accounted for 19% of ASML's net system sales, with the company shipping roughly €5.6 billion worth of equipment to the country in 2025, according to company disclosures.

The dispute marks a rare public rift between Washington and a key European ally over semiconductor export policy, testing whether the US can maintain allied coordination as it tightens restrictions on China's chipmaking capabilities. ASML's DUV machines, while less advanced than EUV systems, remain essential for producing chips used in smartphones and automobiles.

The €5.6 Billion Question

ASML holds a near-monopoly on the lithography machines essential for chip production. Its DUV systems use 193-nanometer wavelength light to pattern chips, technology commercially available since the mid-2000s. While less sophisticated than the EUV machines already restricted, these workhorse tools churn out chips for everything from smartphones to cars.

The proposed restrictions go further than existing controls. The US and Netherlands had previously agreed on limiting ASML's most advanced EUV systems, but the MATCH Act would extend curbs to the older DUV immersion machines that China has been stockpiling as it races to build domestic semiconductor capacity. Chinese foundries have become ASML's fastest-growing customer segment over the past two years.

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet's comments to TechCrunch in May marked a shift in tone from a company that has historically avoided public disputes over export policy. By detailing what China can currently purchase, ASML is drawing attention to the stakes — both for its own business and for the principle of multilateral decision-making on technology controls.

A Stress Test for the Western Alliance

European officials are bristling at what they see as Washington's unilateral decision-making on technology policy that directly affects European companies. The US has steadily tightened semiconductor export controls since 2022, each time raising the bar on what constitutes sensitive technology. The latest proposal to restrict decade-old equipment strikes many in Europe as overreach.

The Dutch government, which already implemented export controls on ASML's most advanced systems at US request, is reluctant to extend restrictions further without clear security justifications. Industry insiders argue that cutting off DUV sales won't meaningfully slow China's chip ambitions — it will simply shift production to less efficient Chinese-made alternatives while hammering European manufacturers.

Even as it opposes the MATCH Act, the Netherlands has joined the US-led "Silicon Peace" initiative, a broader effort to coordinate AI supply chain policy among allies including South Korea and Japan. This dual-track approach — opposing compulsory restrictions while participating in voluntary coordination — highlights the increasingly narrow space European allies must navigate between Washington's security demands and their own commercial interests.

China continues to pour investment into domestic chip equipment manufacturing, hoping to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. Every new US export restriction accelerates that timeline, potentially creating the very outcome Washington hopes to prevent — a bifurcated semiconductor ecosystem where Chinese manufacturers operate entirely outside Western influence.

The MATCH Act has not yet faced a full House or Senate vote and would likely need to be folded into a larger package to pass. For ASML and other European chipmakers, the direction of travel is unmistakable: in the new era of semiconductor geopolitics, neutrality is no longer an option.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.