news/ASML/2023.01.26/Japan, Netherlands to join U.S. in restricting chip equipment exports to China-Bloomber...txt

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Japan and the Netherlands will
soon agree to join the United States in restricting exports of
semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, Bloomberg News
reported.Talks between the countries will conclude as early as
Friday, with the Netherlands restricting ASML Holding NV
from selling machines to China used to make certain
types of advanced chips, Bloomberg reported, citing people
familiar with the matter.Japan would impose similar restrictions on Nikon Corp
, the report said.Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, a government
spokesperson, said Japan would make "appropriate steps" based on
the United States' and other nations' regulatory moves. He
declined to comment further when asked about the report at a
Friday afternoon media briefing.The Dutch foreign ministry declined comment. Prime Minister
Mark Rutte, who has said he expects to reach agreement with the
United States and other allies on stricter controls but that the
Netherlands will not simply adopt U.S. rules, will take
questions at his weekly news briefing later on Friday.Sources have told Reuters that a deal between Dutch and U.S.
officials could be clinched by the end of the month as
representatives from the two countries meet in Washington on
Friday.Getting the Netherlands and Japan to impose tighter export
controls on China would be a major diplomatic win for U.S.
President Joe Biden's administration, which in October announced
sweeping restrictions on Beijing's access to U.S. chipmaking
technology to slow its technological and military advances.Without Japanese or Dutch cooperation, U.S. companies would
face a competitive disadvantage."We have been in discussion with the United States and other
countries regarding the export-control regime," Yasutoshi
Nishimura, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, told
reporters on Friday."We will implement any measures in accordance with our
Foreign Exchange Law and through international cooperation," he
added, declining to provide further details.While Nikon could be affected, the Japanese company most
likely to be affected by new restrictions will be chip
manufacturing machinery maker Tokyo Electron, which relies on
China for about a quarter of its sales, said Masahiko Hosokawa,
a Meisei University professor and former director general of
trade control at the ministry."A balance needs to be struck so no one among Japan, the
United States and Europe will be disproportionately
disadvantaged. It's about fairness," he said.Dutch officials have insisted that fresh controls address
national security concerns rather than favour U.S. chip-related
companies, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters.Japan expects sales at affected chip-related companies to
rebound quickly because the market for their equipment is
expanding, a trade and industry official involved in overseeing
semiconductor firms told Reuters. He asked not to be identified
because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly, Kiysho Takenaka, Mayu Sakoda, Kantaro
Komiya and Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Gerry
Doyle and Jacqueline Wong)