The Netherlands, home to ASML Holding NV, is preparing restrictions on certain chipmaking machines amid pressure from the US to clamp down on China’s access to critical semiconductor technology, reports Bloomberg. A new proposal would rein in exports of so-called immersion DUV lithography products, adding to restrictions that already exist for the most cutting-edge lithography machines, which are critical to producing the world’s most advanced chips.
The rules are expected to be published before the summer, according to a letter sent by the government’s minister of foreign trade to lawmakers on Wednesday.
ASML is the largest European tech firm by market valuation and the world’s only manufacturer of certain lithography systems, which are needed to print patterns of transistors onto silicon wafers. While ASML has long been prevented from selling its most advanced technology—known as extreme ultraviolet lithography—to Chinese companies, the latest proposal would also bar machines that are one notch below that level.