Dutch chip-equipment giant ASML Holding NV is contending with its biggest challenge yet under the Trump administration: In a series of recent meetings, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlined concerns to ASML’s senior leaders that one of its top-of-the-line machines may have made its way into China, in violation of US-led export restrictions.
During the meetings, Lutnick expressed concern to ASML executives about the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to people familiar with the talks. EUV systems are used by firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to manufacture processors for the likes of Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc., and ASML has never been allowed to ship them to China because of curbs imposed during the first Trump administration.
ASML has pushed back on Lutnick’s suggestion, explaining that none of these tools — which are the size of a school bus, manufactured in limited quantities, and require constant upkeep by ASML employees — are in China, the people said, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. A company spokesperson, asked about the meetings, said that ASML talks with all governments and that it’s never shipped an EUV machine to China.
It’s unclear what exactly the Trump administration seeks from ASML, which is now trying to prove a negative, nor what type of information from the equipment maker could put the China EUV issue to bed. The Commerce Department didn’t respond to multiple queries on the matter, including whether the agency has any evidence of an EUV machine in China.
Shares of ASML fell as much as 2.7% in Amsterdam on Friday. They’ve advanced about 78% this year.
Multiple senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive matter, said they have evidence indicating ASML is not acting in good faith — such as exports to China of gear specifically related to EUV tools, which ASML denied to Bloomberg. These US officials, who didn’t comment on Lutnick’s meetings with ASML, declined multiple requests from Bloomberg for proof of the shipments, citing the sensitivity of the information and sources. They also declined to say whether they have seen evidence of an actual EUV system in the Asian country.
Persistent concerns from senior levels of the Trump administration — including a Cabinet official — add to pressure on Europe’s most valuable company, which has previously fielded allegations by American officials that its business activities undermine US national security and tech policies. Should ASML remain unable to allay Washington’s concerns, the situation could also add strain to already rocky relations between the US and the European Union.
“ASML regularly engages in transparent and open dialogue with government leaders globally,” a company spokesperson said. “We recognise the national security considerations behind export control regulations in the US and the Netherlands, and we’re fully committed to complying with all applicable regulations.” They added that ASML has previously “refuted several unfounded rumours regarding non-compliance with export controls concerning China, which were inaccurate and damaging to our reputation.”
A representative of the Dutch foreign ministry said that the Netherlands takes seriously the responsibility that comes with its “unique role in the semiconductor industry.”
Any probe would be the responsibility of the Dutch customs service, according to Foreign Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma.
“In general terms, customs authorities can conduct investigations here, and if criminal offences are found, the public prosecutor’s office will step in,” Sjoerdsma told reporters in the Hague Friday, adding that the government hasn’t instigated any action over the US allegations.
“The system is incredibly robust, and the export rules as they currently stand are extremely strict, perhaps the strictest in the entire world.”
It’s unclear what specifically prompted Lutnick’s EUV questions, which he surfaced at a meeting that covered a range of other topics, including ASML’s commitments to invest in the US. Both Lutnick and ASML Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet have described the overall conversation positively, without mentioning the EUV issue in their LinkedIn posts.
In private, though, ASML has gone into crisis mode, some of the people with knowledge of the talks said. After the meeting with Lutnick in April, the Dutch firm created and began circulating in Washington a document titled “No indication of any ASML EUV System in China.”
There are 314 EUV machines in operation around the world, 26 that have been decommissioned, and none in China, according to the document, which was reviewed by Bloomberg. The presentation added that ASML can automatically detect “any interruption, abnormal behaviour, or loss of connectivity” in its EUV portfolio, and that customers “cannot remove, transport and relocate EUV systems without ASML involvement due to specialised handling procedures.”
The senior administration officials said they have evidence that ASML has shipped to China speciality equipment used to transport EUV machines, as well as other components that could be used in EUV systems. The proof of those exports is too sensitive to disclose, they said, in response to multiple requests.
A company spokesperson denied these allegations, saying, “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.”
China’s lack of access to EUV tools is perhaps the single toughest constraint faced by AI chip champion Huawei Technologies Co., the Asian country’s top rival to Nvidia. Huawei’s semiconductor chief recently touted the company’s innovations in making chips without ASML’s EUV machines in a rare English-language public appearance.
If an EUV system did make it to China, that would be among the biggest known violations of US-led curbs designed to limit Beijing’s access to AI that could benefit its military. Bloomberg asked the senior Trump administration officials why, if they have evidence to suggest that this is the case, the US government hasn’t pursued tougher policies or punitive action on that basis. They declined to comment.
ASML has for years faced increasing limits on its business in China, as the US has pushed the Netherlands and Japan to stem flows of chip production equipment to a geopolitical rival. The three countries are home to the leading makers of these tools, and Chinese rivals are making progress but haven’t caught up — particularly in lithography, where ASML is the world leader.
The Netherlands has already restricted ASML from selling EUV machines and some types of the next-most-advanced immersion deep ultraviolet, or DUV, lithography equipment to China. But there was deep frustration under the Biden administration after ASML accelerated shipments of soon-to-be-banned gear before certain DUV controls were officially in place.
The senior Trump administration officials, who spoke about alleged shipments of EUV components to China, also brought up these earlier, legal DUV shipments — and said they have overall concerns that ASML is prioritising short-term profits over national security.
“Any claim that ASML would or did consciously and willingly break any agreement with the Dutch, the US or any other government is not only factually incorrect but significantly misleading,” a company spokesperson said. “ASML has consistently adjusted its business operations to any development in export controls to comply to any new rules.”
The Hague and Tokyo have generally lagged behind Washington in the timing of their controls, and resisted implementing certain measures — such as banning their engineers from maintaining and repairing certain restricted gear that’s already in China, which US persons and companies can’t do. US chip tool-makers Lam Research Corp., KLA Corp. and Applied Materials Inc. have said that this discrepancy leaves them at a competitive disadvantage.
There are also differences in the restrictions US and foreign companies face for sales to specific Chinese customers on Washington’s so-called entity list, which imposes tougher controls on individual companies than exist across China writ large.
The US has effectively cut off all technology flows to Huawei, for example, and used extraterritorial authorities to extend those measures to companies including ASML. But the US rules still allow certain types of overseas business with other Chinese firms on the entity list — such as Huawei’s partner SwaySure Technology Co., which was added to the list in 2024.
The senior Trump officials, who expressed concerns about ASML’s overall business activities, said that ASML has been providing technological support to SwaySure to help build the company’s resilience to US rules. They declined to provide further details. SwaySure didn’t respond to requests for comment.
To be sure, Washington has the tools to compel ASML to stop working with SwaySure entirely — and President Donald Trump’s team hasn’t used them. The US administration has generally struggled to formulate a coherent strategy around semiconductor manufacturing equipment export controls.
Trump officials opened their term with a threat to fully cut ASML off from China, according to people familiar with the talks, who requested anonymity because the discussions are private. They then proposed much narrower measures in negotiations with the Netherlands and Japan, focused primarily on the question of gear maintenance — something the Biden administration also tried and failed to fully tackle. The talks under Trump have yet to produce a substantive outcome.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says
US concerns about Chinese chipmakers using ASML’s advanced tools might have little impact on ASML’s sales. Bloomberg News reports that in recent meetings, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed concerns to ASML’s leaders, saying one of its top machines might have made its way into China, violating US-led restrictions.
But ASML says it has never shipped extreme ultraviolet lithography systems to China and has complied with tightening restrictions on deep ultraviolet tools. Also, using ASML machines to make advanced chips would probably require sophisticated tools from other foreign firms that also face restrictions. China is increasingly able to make more-advanced chips with legacy tools, so the US concerns may reflect Chinese engineering progress rather than any lapse in ASML’s compliance with export controls.
That diplomatic stalemate prompted Congress to step in earlier this year with a bipartisan bill that broadly seeks to toughen curbs on companies, including ASML and Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd., so they are subject to the same level of restrictions in China as US firms. It also calls for an effective ban on shipments of all types of immersion DUV tools from ASML, which would dramatically limit the Dutch company’s access to a market from which it expects to derive about 20% of 2026 revenue.
The Trump administration hasn’t taken a formal position on the legislation, which cleared a key congressional committee — with some amendments — in April. US Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo recently suggested that a favourable trade deal between the US and the European Union would “take some pressure off” the bill, which is opposed by multiple foreign governments, including the Hague.
