(Reuters) – The U.S. government is urging the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan to further tighten curbs on China’s access to semiconductor technology, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
The U.S. wants Japanese companies to limit exports to China of specialized chemicals required for chipmaking, including photoresist, the report said citing people familiar with the matter.
Washington is also pressing the Netherlands to stop semiconductor equipment maker ASML from servicing and repairing chipmaking equipment for Chinese clients bought before limits on sales of those devices were put in place this year, the report added.
Tokyo and The Hague want to assess the impact of their current curbs before considering tougher actions, the report said, adding that the U.S. Commerce Department officials raised the issue in Tokyo during a meeting on export controls last month.
American officials had earlier expressed particular concerns about China’s ability to employ advanced chips, and the powerful processors they enable, for its fast-growing military.
Representatives of the US Commerce Department, Japan’s trade ministry and the Dutch foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while ASML could not be immediately reached.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru, Editing by Franklin Paul)