Nexperia

Published on
19/11/2025 – 13:15 GMT+1

The Netherlands announced on Wednesday that it is suspending state control of Chinese chipmaker Nexperia after “constructive” talks with Chinese authorities.

The decision marks a de-escalation after several weeks of dispute between the Hague and Beijing over the export of chips that play an essential role in the European automotive sector.

“In light of recent developments, I consider it the right moment to take a constructive step by suspending my order under the Goods Availability Act regarding Nexperia,” Dutch Economy minister Vincent Karremans wrote on X.

The dispute began on 30 September when the Dutch government invoked the Goods Availability Act to take control of Nexperia over fears of technology transfers from the company’s Dutch plant to facilities in China.

Beijing retaliated by restricting exports of the Nexperia’s finished chips from China, triggering shortages in the global automotive industry.

The government said on Wednesday that the resumption of exports now appeared to be assured.

“In the past few days we have had constructive meetings with the Chinese authorities,” Karremans said, adding: “We are positive about the measures already taken by the Chinese authorities to ensure the supply of chips to Europe and the rest of the world.”

In a letter sent to the Dutch Parliament on Wednesday, Karremans wrote that “Chinese authorities currently appear to be granting permission to companies from European and other countries to export Nexperia chips.”

However, he also added a note of caution.

“A duty to provide information remains in effect: the company must inform me about the transfer of production resources and knowledge between its facilities.”

Supply crisis eases off

The impasse seemed to ease at the end of October following a meeting between the Chinese and the US in South Korea at which both sides agreed to a truce in their bilateral trade dispute.

After a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 30, China said it would start accepting applications for exports of Nexperia chips from Chinese facilities to ease what was becoming a global shortage.

However, Karremans told the media last week that he had no regrets about his assertive approach to the chipmaker.

EU trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič welcomed the Dutch decision on X saying it was “another key step in stabilising our strategic chip supply chains.”

Last Friday, Šefčovič told Euronews the dispute was a warning that the EU needs to diversify its supply of strategic products since they can now be “weaponised” by third countries.

All critical strategic supplies can be used as a weapon against the European Union, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told Euronews in an exclusive interview.

The EU is dealing with the fallout from the Dutch government’s takeover of Nexperia, a chipmaker, citing national security. The move from the Hague has prompted a clash between Europe and China over who controls the company and its finished products, resulting in Chinese restrictions on chip exports.

Šefčovič, an experienced politician who oversees the all-important trade portfolio for the EU, said the episode highlights the complexities of the global supply chain as well as the risks associated with critical dependencies on third countries outside the EU.

“It very much underlines the lessons we’ve learned over the past years, and it doesn’t concern only China. Today, everything can be weaponised,” Šefčovič told Euronews. For Europe, he argued, “it started with [Russian] gas, then it continued with critical raw materials and high and low-end chips. It can all be weaponised.”

Šefčovič has been in contact with Chinese and Dutch authorities since the spat started more than a month ago. The Dutch government took control of Nexperia on September 30, fearing that the company would be dismantled and relocated to China. The Dutch authorities remain worried that the move could also involve a transfer of sensitive technology.

The Chinese responded by blocking chip exports, triggering concerns in Europe and around the world about a potential global shortage of automotive chips.

The impasse eased on 30 October following a meeting between the Chinese and the United States in South Korea, where both sides agreed to a truce in their bilateral trade dispute.

“China is taking appropriate measures to ensure trade from Nexperia’s facilities in China resumes, so that production of crucial chips can flow to the rest of the world,” a White House statement read.

Šefčovič suggested that the partial restoration of exports points to the start of a resolution to the standoff, but reiterated that the debacle was a warning of the urgent need to diversify.

“We are getting information from the car manufacturers to the spare parts producers that they are getting these chips,” he told Euronews.

“But we are only at the beginning of resolving this problem, so we will continue to talk with our Dutch colleagues and Chinese authorities.”

Vincent Karremans, the Dutch minister at the centre of the storm with Beijing, said in an interview that he would do it all again in the same manner and signalled that the episode is a warning of the large dependencies Europe has built over the years.

EU preparing new doctrine on economic security

The Nexperia saga is the latest incident between China and the EU over the supply of strategic components used across industries from cars to defence.

It also highlights how these materials are becoming a political tool for exerting economic pressure. After weeks of tensions that have impacted the European industry, the EU has secured a deal with China to ease restrictions on some rare-earth exports.

The Commission is working on a plan due to be presented next month that addresses some of these weaknesses. Šefčovič said the global competition to secure rare earths, critical components, and a stable supply chain required a unified approach.

“We have to work a little bit more like Japan, where they’re stockpiling some of the critical raw materials, some of that critical technologies and critical chips”, said Šefčovič.

“I think this would be one of the lessons which we want to bring in the new economic security doctrine, which we’ll be presenting before the end of the year.”

The EU has been actively pursuing a policy of de-risking, but not de-coupling from China, which would keep the door open to trade while applying safeguards in key areas deemed strategic for the EU and closing loopholes into the single market.

“Economic security and effective export controls would work only if they’re applied in harmony as homogeneous across the EU,” Šefčovič said.

“Those who want to abuse the system will always find a weak spot to penetrate the European market – and then put the whole European economy in jeopardy,” he concluded.

China has lifted export controls on computer chips vital to car production, the country’s commerce ministry said on Sunday.

Exemptions have been granted to exports made by Chinese-owned Nexperia for civilian use, it said, which should help carmakers who had feared production in Europe would be hit.

At the same time, China has also paused an export ban to the US of some materials that are crucial in the semiconductor industry and suspended port fees for American ships.

The moves mark an easing of trade tensions between Beijing and Washington after President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed in October to reduce tariffs on each other and pause other measures for a year.

In October, the Dutch government took control of Nexperia, which is based in the Netherlands but owned by Chinese company Wingtech, to try to safeguard the European supply of semiconductors for cars and other goods.

In response, China blocked exports of the firm’s finished chips. However, it said earlier this month it would begin easing the ban as part of a trade deal struck between the US and China.

While Nexperia is based in the Netherlands, about 70% of its chips made in Europe are sent to China to be completed and re-exported to other countries.

When it took control of the company, the Dutch government said it had taken the decision due to “serious governance shortcomings” and to prevent the company’s chips from becoming unavailable in an emergency.

But when China blocked exports of chips from Nexperia, there were worries that it could create global supply chain issues.

In October, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (EMEA) had warned Nexperia chip supplies would only last a few weeks unless the Chinese ban was lifted.

Earlier this month, the EMEA’s director general Sigrid De Vries told the BBC that “supply shortages were imminent”.

Volvo Cars and Volkswagen had warned that a chip shortage could lead to temporary shutdowns at their plants, and Jaguar Land Rover also said the lack of chips posed a threat to its business.

But on Saturday, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic announced in a post on X that China had agreed to “the further simplification of export procedures for Nexperia chips” and it would “grant exemption from licensing requirements to any exporter” provided the goods were for “civilian use”.

“Close engagement with both the Chinese and Dutch authorities continues as we work towards a lasting. stable predictable framework that ensures the full restoration of semiconductor flows.”

In its statement, China’s commerce ministry called on “the EU to continue exerting its influence to urge the Netherlands to correct its erroneous practices as soon as possible.”

Prof David Bailey from Birmingham University’s business school told the BBC’s Today programme that the actions of China were a “wake-up call” for the motor industry.

“The Dutch government may well have had good reasons to try and take control but it hadn’t thought through the implications of that,” he said. “The retaliation from China was swift and it was brutal.”

He said there was a need to find alternative processing sites, “maybe in south east Asia, or Europe”, and for the industry to keep bigger stocks of its products in case of shortages.

Meanwhile, the suspension of a ban on exports of “dual-use items” related to gallium, germanium, antimony and super-hard materials to the US came into effect on Sunday and will be in place until 27 November, 2026.

The ban on the exports of goods and materials that can have both civilian and military uses was announced in December 2024.

China’s transport ministry also said port fees charged on US-linked ships would be suspended for a for a year, effective 0501 GMT Monday.

On Friday, China also announced the suspension of other export controls related to expanded curbs on some rare earth materials and lithium batteries.