Key Takeaways
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confronted ASML leadership about potential illegal transfer of an EUV lithography system to China.
- The semiconductor equipment maker categorically rejected claims it has shipped any EUV machine or related components to Chinese buyers.
- Shares of ASML declined approximately 1.99% after news of the U.S. inquiry surfaced.
- Earlier this year, Washington proposed requiring partner nations to enforce stricter export restrictions on advanced semiconductor technology destined for China.
- Reports from late last year indicated Chinese researchers developed an EUV prototype with help from ex-ASML personnel.
Shares of ASML retreated 1.99% following a Bloomberg News disclosure that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confronted the Dutch chipmaker’s top executives over suspicions that one of its sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing systems may have reached China in violation of international export restrictions.
The discussions between Lutnick and ASML leadership centered on the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, commonly referred to as EUV. These machines represent some of the most sophisticated and strictly regulated technology in the global semiconductor industry.
ASML responded swiftly and decisively. In a written statement provided to Reuters, the Dutch company stated: “ASML has never shipped an EUV machine to China nor have we shipped to China any component, module or equipment specially designed to be used in an EUV machine.”
The statement leaves no room for ambiguity — and the company maintains its position unequivocally.
Furthermore, ASML emphasized that it has “consistently adjusted its business to any development in export controls to comply to any new rules,” while dismissing what it called unfounded accusations of non-compliance regarding Chinese exports.
For context: ASML’s cutting-edge EUV lithography systems are approximately the size of a transit bus and tip the scales at 180 tons. Circumventing export controls with equipment of this magnitude would be exceptionally difficult.
Washington Intensifies Semiconductor Restrictions
The United States has been progressively strengthening restrictions on semiconductor-related exports in recent years. This past April, the administration put forward legislative proposals demanding that allied nations synchronize their export control frameworks with U.S. policy — particularly measures designed to curtail China’s advanced chipmaking capabilities.
ASML’s lithography systems were explicitly referenced in the proposed legislation, highlighting the company’s critical role in the ongoing technological competition between Washington and Beijing.
Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor White House representatives were available to provide comment when Reuters attempted to reach them after regular business hours.
Beijing’s Domestic EUV Ambitions
The larger geopolitical context is significant. Last December, Reuters disclosed that Chinese researchers had successfully constructed a working EUV lithography prototype, assembled by a group of former ASML engineering staff.
This initiative was characterized as China’s equivalent of the Manhattan Project — a comprehensive national effort to establish indigenous semiconductor manufacturing capabilities independent of Western technology providers.
This development likely fuels Washington’s apprehension. If China has already assembled functional EUV equipment with the assistance of ex-ASML engineers, U.S. officials may suspect that actual ASML machines could have also reached Chinese facilities.
Bloomberg’s initial reporting did not specify how such equipment might have entered China or offer concrete evidence confirming that a transfer occurred. The report relied on unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation.
ASML’s Amsterdam-traded shares (ASML.AS) declined 1.68% following the report’s publication, while the U.S.-listed ticker experienced a 1.99% drop.
The report emerged on June 18, with Reuters subsequently verifying key details through ASML’s official public response.
