US warns ASML over concern its top EUV chip tool may have reached China
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ASML $ASML he is concerned one of its top EUV chip machines may have reached China in breach of export controls. ASML denies ever shipping EUV equipment or components to China.
The fight over who controls the world's most advanced chipmaking gear has a new front. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has raised concerns directly with ASML, the Dutch company that holds a near-monopoly on extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, that one of its top machines may have reached China in breach of US-led export restrictions. ASML $ASML pushed back firmly. The company says it has never shipped an EUV machine to China, nor any component, module or equipment specifically designed for use in one. That denial matters, because EUV systems are the chokepoint for producing the most advanced semiconductors, and keeping them out of China has been a central pillar of US technology policy. The gap in the story is evidence. Senior US officials say they have indications that ASML shipped EUV-related components and transport equipment to China, but according to Bloomberg they have declined to show that evidence, either to reporters or to ASML itself. The Commerce Department has not said whether it has proof of an actual EUV system on Chinese soil.