US tells ASML it is concerned China may have top chip tool - The Straits Times

Recent meetings between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and ASML executives have raised concerns over the potential unauthorized shipment of advanced EUV lithography machines to China, violating ... Read original →

Unauthorized EUV deployment in China would fundamentally destabilize global control over sub-3nm process nodes. Technically, it could accelerate Huawei’s AI chip development and force SMIC to pivot toward alternative lithography or heterogeneous integration. Compliance-wise, ASML faces soaring audit burdens and delivery bottlenecks under extraterritorial U.S. export rules, likely curtailing its China service footprint. Competitively, while Applied Materials and Lam may gain short-term substitution advantages, Beijing’s intensified backing of domestic players like SwaySure will erode Western equipment dominance long-term. Over the next 12–24 months, divergent export controls among the U.S., Netherlands, and Japan will widen, prompting the EU to assert ‘technological sovereignty’ while China consolidates a dual-track supply chain—constrained in advanced nodes but overcapacity in mature nodes.