Japan and the Netherlands will join the US in restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, according to sources familiar with the matter.
With talks between the three countries expected to end Friday, the Dutch company ASML Holding will reportedly be banned from selling machines that make advanced chips, and Japan will impose similar restrictions on Nikon.
As China's military and technological prowess grow exponentially, Western allies need agreements like this to protect against Chinese military-grade computer chip manufacturing. Though cutting companies off from China will take incredible domestic investment, it will be worth it when the US and its allies are safe from the prying eyes of the CCP.
Although Biden sees this as a victory, even ASML executives are warning this move could isolate western companies from the global market while China’s learning to manufacture semiconductors itself. This deal won’t do much to improve national security once the CCP figures out how to build military-grade computer chips on its own.