The image caption reads: “Nexperia’s headquarters in Nijmegen, Netherlands. AP Yonhap News.”
The article discusses how China’s resumption of semiconductor exports from Nexperia is expected to ease supply chain disruptions that have been affecting automakers. With the lifting of the export controls, China has continued to blame the Netherlands for the chaos.
On November 8th local time, the European Union (EU) Commission announced that Chinese authorities have confirmed the resumption of Nexperia’s semiconductor exports, according to AFP. Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s Trade Commissioner, welcomed the simplification of China’s export procedures, noting that this measure takes immediate effect and is limited to civilian products.
China had blocked the export of Nexperia semiconductors in response to the Dutch government’s effective nationalization of Nexperia at the end of September. Though Nexperia is headquartered in the Netherlands, it is wholly owned by the Chinese company Wingtech. The Dutch government had intervened to control the company over concerns of advanced technology leakage, allegedly in line with the U.S.’s expanded sanctions on Chinese companies.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce retaliated by halting exports from China, where 80% of Nexperia’s products are manufactured. This directly impacted the European supply as the semiconductors are produced in Europe, undergo further processing in China, and are then re-exported to Europe. Concerns loomed over disruptions for automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Toyota due to the reliance on these general-purpose semiconductors. However, after the U.S.-China summit on October 30th and subsequent trade tension easing measures, Nexperia’s civilian products were removed from the export ban list.
Despite relaxing export controls, Chinese authorities strongly criticized the Netherlands for the global semiconductor supply chain disruptions. A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce argued on November 8th that the Netherlands is infringing on the legal rights of Chinese companies and failing to take substantial actions for supply chain stability. The spokesperson urged an end to administrative interference with businesses and called for real solutions.