U.S. Commerce Secretary Alleges ASML EUV Machine May Have Ended Up in China

U.S. Alleges ASML May Have Shipped Advanced Chip-Making Machine to China

The U.S. Commerce Department has voiced concerns to ASML, the Dutch maker of essential semiconductor equipment, that one of its most advanced "EUV" machines may have ended up in China. ASML denies this, and the U.S. has not publicly shared its evidence.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has told senior ASML executives that the U.S. government is worried one of the company's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines may have been shipped to China. According to senior administration officials, the U.S. has evidence that EUV-related components and transport equipment reached China. However, they have not shown this evidence to either Bloomberg or ASML.

ASML remains firm in its denial, stating that no EUV machine exists in China and has never existed there. The Commerce Department declined to answer questions about whether it possesses concrete evidence of an actual EUV system being present in the country.

ASML is the world's sole supplier of EUV lithography machines, which are critical for producing the most advanced semiconductors used in AI, smartphones, and military hardware.

Export controls have barred ASML from selling EUV machines to China since the first Trump administration.

This ban has been in place for years, making the recent allegation particularly significant. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet has emphasized that the company tracks all shipped machines and that employees with access to EUV technology are strictly separated from China-based staff.

While EUV sales are blocked, ASML does sell older deep ultraviolet (DUV) tools to China. These sales are substantial, accounting for about 20% of ASML's expected 2026 revenue.

The dispute comes amid several broader moves affecting the semiconductor industry:

• Investment in a Rival? The U.S. Commerce Department has agreed to invest up to $150 million in xLight, a startup developing next-generation light-source technology that could potentially complement (or compete with) ASML's EUV systems.
• Tightening the Screws: A bipartisan bill in Congress proposes banning all ASML DUV shipments to China, which would further cut off the country from advanced chip-making tools.
• Alternative Technology: Investor Peter Thiel has backed Substrate, a startup pursuing technology that rivals ASML's EUV platform.