The Biden administration has imposed strong export controls aimed at preventing China from accessing Western-made semiconductors and chipmaking equipment.At the time, a senior US official told Dutch diplomats that “good allies do not sell this type of equipment to China.” In a thinly disguised threat, the official warned that ASML depended on crucial US-made components and that Washington had “the authority to restrict exports of those parts to the Netherlands.”Although Washington consulted with allies before imposing its latest semiconductor export controls, it has also threatened to retaliate against holdouts, so that equipment that contains “even the smallest amount of US technologies” couldn’t be sold to China.Foreign Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher says that the Netherlands “does not want to copy the American measures.” Economics Minister Micky Adriaansens adds that the Netherlands “have their own economic interests” and wants the US to provide something substantial in return for new restrictions.Many Europeans believe that the controls could backfire – encouraging China to develop its own domestic advanced chip-making capabilities.The US Semiconductor Industry Association points out that increasing US-China tech tensions are amplifying Beijing’s “desire to develop self-sufficiency in semiconductors.”For now, though, no substitute exists for ASML."