According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed concerns to senior executives of Dutch lithography giant ASML during a series of recent meetings – that one of the company’s top extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines may have entered China in violation of U.S.-led export controls. Bloomberg reported that multiple senior government officials claim to have evidence that ASML “failed to act in good faith” regarding its export control obligations, including exporting components or parts specifically related to EUV equipment to China; however, citing the sensitivity of the sources, these officials declined to provide specific evidence to Bloomberg and did not confirm whether direct evidence exists of a complete EUV machine appearing in China. ASML quickly issued a statement fully denying the allegations: “ASML has never shipped any EUV system to China, nor has it ever shipped any parts, modules, or equipment specifically dedicated to complete EUV systems to China.” The U.S. Department of Commerce did not comment on the matter.
This is the latest sign of the Trump administration intensifying pressure on ASML. Previously, the U.S. government had repeatedly raised national security concerns regarding ASML’s business in China. ASML is still able to legally sell older-generation deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines to China, and such permissible China business is expected to account for about 20% of its total revenue in 2026. On the congressional front, a bipartisan bill passed a key committee review in April. The bill seeks to impose on ASML and Japanese equipment maker Tokyo Electron export restrictions to China equivalent to those faced by U.S. companies, and calls for effectively banning the export of all types of immersion DUV lithography machines to China – if passed, this would have a substantial impact on ASML’s revenue structure. TechCrunch analysis points out that ASML’s single EUV machine is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and its DUV license business in China carries significant risks; the company has little incentive to risk losing entire market access for a single illegal sale. However, since the government’s evidence has not been made public, outsiders currently cannot judge the veracity of the allegations.