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EUV dispute erupts
ASML Holding faced fresh pressure in Amsterdam after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised concerns with senior executives that one of the company’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines may have reached China despite US-led export restrictions.
“Bloomberg — The Dutch chipmaking equipment giant ASML Holding NV (ASML) faces its greatest challenge yet under the Trump administration: in a series of recent meetings, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed to ASML's top executives his concern that one of its state-of-the-art machines may have arrived in China, in violation of U”
Reuters reported that ASML pushed back, saying it has never shipped an EUV system to China and denying claims that it sent China any component, module, or equipment specially designed for EUV machines.
The dispute centers on whether an EUV tool could have slipped past export controls, with TechSpot describing the question as whether a machine that has never been approved for export to China could nonetheless have reached the country.
TechSpot also said EUV is the technology that underpins today’s most advanced processors and that the machines are roughly the size of a school bus, produced in limited quantities, and require constant maintenance from ASML engineers.
TradingView added that ASML’s shares fell as much as 2.7% on Friday while it still advanced about 78% this year, as investors weighed whether Washington pushes for tighter chip-equipment controls.
ASML denies, officials press
ASML told Reuters in an emailed statement that it has “never shipped an EUV machine to China nor have we shipped to China any component, module or equipment specially designed to be used in an EUV machine.”
Multiple senior Trump administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Bloomberg that they believe ASML is not acting in good faith, citing exports to China of equipment they say is specifically related to EUV tools while declining to provide documentation.
In a separate framing, the Taipei Times said Lutnick expressed concern to ASML executives over EUV systems and that ASML pushed back by saying none of the tools are in China, while the Commerce Department did not respond to multiple queries.
The Straits Times reported that after the meeting with Lutnick in April, ASML created and began circulating in Washington a document titled “No indication of any ASML EUV System in China.”
That document, reviewed by Bloomberg, said there are 314 EUV machines in operation worldwide, 26 have been decommissioned, and none are in China, while also stating that customers “cannot remove, transport and relocate EUV systems without ASML involvement due to specialised handling procedures.”
What’s at stake next
The dispute is unfolding as Washington debates how far to extend its export control regime, with TradingView noting that US lawmakers are considering tougher rules that could further limit shipments of advanced DUV tools.
“Home / World News / Trump team questions ASML over fears banned EUV chip machine reached China Trump team questions ASML over fears banned EUV chip machine reached China ASML is scrambling to rebut US concerns that its advanced EUV chipmaking technology may have reached China despite export curbs Advertisement”
TradingView said China remains an important market for ASML, which expects about 20% of 2026 revenue from the country, even as the Netherlands has blocked EUV sales to Chinese chipmakers and, under US pressure, restricted certain types of immersion deep ultraviolet tools.
Techzine Global reported that Lutnick’s concerns come as the US is further tightening export restrictions on ASML, and it cited a bill introduced in April 2026—the MATCH Act—that would also ban the export of DUV immersion machines and the servicing of existing machines in China.
The Times of India added that ASML has been barred from selling EUV to China since the first Trump administration, and it said senior administration figures told Bloomberg they have evidence ASML shipped EUV-related components and transport gear to China but have not shown it.
Behind the technical claims, Tom’s Hardware said an ASML EUV scanner is made of 100,000 components and weighs 180 tons, and it reported that ASML says it knows the location of every EUV tool it has ever built, while also noting that the US government has not publicly produced evidence that a complete EUV scanner is operating in China.
