Dutch Trade Minister Heads to Washington to Oppose MATCH Act as ASML Interests Face Threat
Claire Weston
The Dutch trade minister flew to Washington this week to lobby Congress directly against the MATCH Act — a bill that would extend China chip-export controls to ASML's older DUV lithography machines. China accounts for 19% of ASML's net system sales, making this a rare case of a European government openly pushing back against US semiconductor legislation to protect its flagship company.
Why did a Dutch minister personally go to Washington?
Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and members of Congress this week, explicitly opposing the MATCH Act.
He told Bloomberg afterward: "I came here specifically to lay out our concerns to Congress in full — this is an extraordinary step."
This means → The Netherlands is no longer working through quiet diplomatic channels. A European sovereign government is lobbying the US Congress on chip legislation — a highly unusual move.
What exactly would the MATCH Act ban?
Introduced in April, the bill aims to block Chinese chipmakers from acquiring Western semiconductor equipment.
EUV lithography tools — the most advanced machines that etch circuits with extreme-ultraviolet light — are already banned for China. The MATCH Act would extend controls to DUV immersion lithography machines (the previous generation, first shipped roughly a decade ago).
In plain terms = Chinese customers can still buy ASML's "older" machines today. This bill would shut that door too.
How much is at stake for ASML?
China accounts for 19% of ASML's net system sales — nearly one-fifth.
ASML is the only company in the world that can produce advanced EUV lithography tools. It is also Europe's most valuable company by market cap.
This means → Losing DUV exports to China is not a marginal hit. Nearly a fifth of revenue comes under direct pressure — a signal-level event for the entire European tech sector.
Can the bill actually pass?
According to Bloomberg, the MATCH Act has not yet gone to a full vote in either the House or the Senate.
It will most likely need to be folded into a larger legislative package to advance. The outcome remains uncertain.
This reflects a bill still far from becoming law — yet the Dutch government chose to act now, signaling that European semiconductor industry anxiety over unilateral US expansion of export controls has reached a point where waiting is no longer an option.
What is the real story here?
On the surface, this is a fight over one bill. Underneath, it is a core tension: within the alliance framework, how does a country protect its own companies' commercial interests?
The Netherlands already complied with the US-led EUV ban. But DUV is ASML's last remaining export channel to China — another concession leaves no buffer at all.
In plain terms = Europe is not opposing export controls as such. It is opposing the pattern of the US continuously moving the line forward and expecting allies to absorb the cost every time. That tension will only sharpen.
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