According to a Netherlands-based NU portal report cited by TechPowerUp, the United States government may be pressuring the Dutch government to get ASML to stop nearly all exports of chip-making equipment to China. ASML's most advanced Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools have already been blocked from sale to China since 2019 under US pressure, and ASML has never shipped an EUV scanner there.
In recent years, restrictions have expanded to cover ASML's older Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) scanners, which currently require a national export license before being shipped to China. A new bipartisan bill before Congress, called the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act, would push the US government to get allied countries to impose a broader ban on exporting even these older DUV machines, which could effectively end most ASML shipments to China.
The report notes that China may not be left without DUV tools even if such a ban takes effect. Shanghai Yuliangsheng Technology reportedly began limited production of immersion DUV lithography machines in July, aiming to deliver five systems this year and around 20 by 2027, with customers including SMIC, CXMT, and Hua Hong. If the ban is not imposed immediately, China's push toward self-sufficiency in DUV tools could reduce the impact of any future restrictions, though an immediate ban could still create problems for Chinese firms currently dependent on ASML equipment.
Separately, a Wccftech report describes a different and unconfirmed possibility: that the Trump administration may allow Apple to source memory chips from China's CXMT (DRAM) and YMTC (NAND). Apple has reportedly been testing products from both companies and, according to the Financial Times, has lobbied the administration for clearance to buy DRAM from CXMT, which remains on a Pentagon blacklist over alleged ties to China's military. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is working with the administration to limit political backlash from such a move.
Any chips Apple sourced from these Chinese suppliers would reportedly be used only in products sold within China. Citing a Weibo account called Mobile Chip Expert, Wccftech reports that a formal decision could follow a meeting between President Trump and President Xi in September, though this remains unverified. In the meantime, a group of US lawmakers has asked Apple to commit by August 21 to not pursuing Chinese memory sourcing and to disclose any technical information shared with CXMT or YMTC. Separate reporting also notes uncertainty over whether CXMT can currently meet Apple's DRAM demand given capacity constraints, and that CXMT has reportedly declined to offer Apple a price concession.
Together, the two reports point to contrasting pressures in US-China tech policy: tightening controls on chipmaking equipment exports to China on one hand, and a possible loosening around Apple's use of Chinese-made memory chips on the other. Both developments remain unconfirmed as final policy and are described in the sources as pending decisions tied to ongoing US government deliberations and diplomatic engagement with China.