The US Trump administration has told Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML Holding NV that it is worried one of the company’s top-end extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, machines may have made its way into China.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised the concern in a series of recent meetings with ASML’s senior leadership, framing the matter as a possible violation of US-led export controls that have long barred such equipment from being shipped to China.
ASML, Europe’s most valuable company, has been under intensifying scrutiny because its tools sit at the center of the global semiconductor supply chain and are considered critical to advanced chipmaking. Shares of the company fell as much as 2.7% in Amsterdam on Friday after the report, though they were still up about 78% this year.
Also Read | WHO unveils first-ever Ebola, Marburg treatment guidelines amid Africa outbreaks
‼️U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick is concerned one of ASML's lithography chipmaking machines may have ended up in China.
— International Cyber Digest (@IntCyberDigest) June 19, 2026
ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines cost around $370 million and take multiple 747s to transport.
ASML denies the allegation, saying it has never… pic.twitter.com/7R2tjqia5I
The matter of the missing lithography trail
The concern focuses on EUV lithography machines, which are used by companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to manufacture processors for firms including Nvidia and Apple.
ASML has never been permitted to sell EUV systems to China under restrictions first imposed during the Trump administration. People familiar with the discussions said ASML pushed back strongly against Lutnick’s suggestion, saying none of these machines are in China.
A company spokesperson said ASML talks with governments around the world and has “never shipped an EUV machine to China.” The same spokesperson said the company "recognizes[s] the national security considerations” behind export-control rules in the US and the Netherlands and is “fully committed to complying with all applicable regulations.”
🇺🇸🇨🇳 US TELLS ASML IT'S WORRIED CHINA MAY HAVE ITS MOST FORBIDDEN MACHINE.
— CryptoGoos (@cryptogoos) June 19, 2026
Washington thinks an EUV machine may be running in China.
The one tool that prints the world's best chips.
Banned from China since 2019.
ASML says no. Never shipped one.
None in the country.
It even… pic.twitter.com/hUtgETmbdx
A trail of parts and paperwork
The dispute is not limited to the question of whether a complete EUV system reached China. Senior US officials, speaking anonymously to describe a sensitive matter, told Bloomberg that they believe ASML may have exported equipment related to EUV tools, including specialized gear used to transport such systems and other components that could be used in them.
ASML denied those allegations, with a spokesperson saying the company has “never shipped to China any component, module, or equipment specially designed to be used in an EUV machine.” The company has also circulated an internal document in Washington titled “No indication of any ASML EUV system in China,” according to people familiar with the matter.
That document said there are 314 EUV machines operating worldwide, 26 have been decommissioned, and none are in China. It also said customers cannot remove, transport, or relocate EUV systems without ASML’s involvement because of specialized handling requirements.
The wider chessboard comes into view
The issue lands at a sensitive moment for ASML, which has faced increasingly tight limits on sales to China as the US has pushed the Netherlands and Japan to curb the flow of advanced chipmaking tools to Beijing.
The Netherlands has already restricted ASML from selling EUV machines and some of its most advanced deep ultraviolet equipment to China. Dutch officials have not launched any action over the US allegations, and a representative of the Dutch foreign ministry said the country takes seriously its “unique role in the semiconductor industry.”
Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma said customs authorities could investigate if needed, but added that the government had not instigated any action.
The episode could add strain to already difficult US-EU relations over technology controls while leaving ASML to answer questions from Washington about equipment shipments, maintenance, and its broader business in China.
Also Read | ‘She begged me to take a picture with her’: Trump’s claim draws sharp response from Meloni
FAQs
Q1: Why is the US concerned about ASML and China?
Ans: The US believes advanced ASML EUV chipmaking technology or related equipment may have reached China despite export restrictions.
Q2: Has ASML sold EUV machines to China?
Ans: No, ASML says it has never shipped an EUV machine, or EUV-specific components, to China.
