ASML rejects US allegation that an EUV lithography machine reached China

U.S. officials claim that a Dutch‑based semiconductor‑equipment maker, ASML, violated export controls by allowing an extreme‑ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system to be transferred to China. The accusation, voiced by the U.S. Commerce Department under the Trump administration, has not been accompanied by publicly disclosed evidence.

ASML responded that it tracks every EUV machine in real time, stating that no system has ever been exported to China and that each unit is either operating at a monitored customer site or has been dismantled and returned. Company executives emphasized the technical impossibility of reverse‑engineering the 180‑ton, 100,000‑part machines from scrap. The firm also noted that its future revenue from China is expected to come from older deep‑ultraviolet (DUV) equipment, which it continues to sell under existing licences.

The dispute highlights broader U.S. pressure on semiconductor supply chains and ongoing legislative efforts in Congress to ban all ASML sales to China, including DUV tools that account for a significant share of the company’s projected 2026 revenue.