The Netherlands has abandoned anti-Chinese sanctions on the American model

“The Netherlands will not copy American measures one by one. We will make our own assessment and we will do so in consultation with partner countries such as Japan and the United States.”– leads Bloomberg words of Mrs. Schreinemacher. The administration of the American president is trying to conclude a multilateral agreement to impose restrictions on China, trying to prevent the transfer of advanced electronic technology to the country in general and its armed forces in particular. But for the first time the Dutch authorities have publicly expressed their position on this issue.

The statement by the European official reveals the serious problems the United States is facing in trying to convince its allies to join the anti-China campaign. The Netherlands and Japan broadly share Washington’s concerns about security issues, but at the same time continue to see China as an important market they don’t want to lose. And the position of the Netherlands carries a lot of weight, because here is ASML Holding NV, the largest player in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market. The company has already been banned from selling deep ultraviolet lithography scanners to China, but can still supply less sophisticated equipment. Ms Schreinemacher noted that the Netherlands is likely to impose export controls on Beijing itself – the authorities just need time to decide on new rules.