US talks with Japanese, Dutch to yield no immediate China chip export curbs

The White House will discuss a recent crackdown on exports of chip-making tools to China with Japanese and Dutch officials during upcoming visits, but they will not result in "immediate" pledges from the two countries to impose similar curbs, a person familiar with U.S. officials' thinking said on January 12.

The Biden administration in October published a sweeping set of export controls, including measures tightly restricting Chinese access to U.S. chipmaking technology, as part of a bid to slow Beijing's technological and military advances, according to Reuters.

But it has not yet convinced key allies to put in place similar equipment curbs seen as essential to making the restrictions effective, since Japanese and Dutch firms Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV also are top producers of chipmaking equipment.

Upcoming meetings between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the White House on January 13 and next Tuesday (January 17), respectively, will provide forums to discuss the issue, said a person briefed on U.S. officials' thinking.

But, "these visits will not result in immediate announcements and (are) part of our ongoing consultations on these issues," the person cautioned.

A key commerce department official said in October that such agreements were coming "in the near term."