U.S. consulted with Japan, Netherlands on chip curbs to China -Sullivan

The United States has spoken with its partners including Japan and the Netherlands to tighten chip-related exports to China, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said on Monday.

Bloomberg News reported that the two countries had agreed in principle to join the U.S.-led technology export control.

The Biden administration aims to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment, in a bid to slow Beijing’s technological and military advances, issuing a series of curbs in October.

Apart from some U.S. gear suppliers, Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd and Dutch lithography specialist ASML Holding NV were the two critical players needed to make the sanctions effective, making their governments’ adoption of the curbs a key milestone, Bloomberg said.

Its report cited people familiar with the matter. The new curbs may be announced in coming weeks, it added.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. A spokesperson for the Netherlands’ foreign ministry declined to comment.