Technology

I always see comments under posts like these with people proclaiming that ASML/europe should just ignore these demands or asking why the US could even make these in the first place but most people just hear about the companies/machines and don't really understand the situation.

First ASML did not really become the sole provider of high end lithography because they were the absolute best or anything its just that they were the last one standing after decades of mergers and acquisitions consolidated the industry to just a single company. So even though they are incorporated in the netherlands and build the machines and do a lot of their work there they rely on lots of engineering work from around the world and very heavily from inside the US from companies that were merged into them.

More important than that though ASML is mostly an engineering/manufacturing company but before it gets to the point of designing and building these machines it requires years to decades of scientific research and the vast majority of that research is done in the US. In some cases it is US corporations like IBM and universities who do a lot of this but also the US government funds/performs a lot of this as well. So many of the early EUV patents are actually owned by the US government and licensed to ASML so going against the wishes of the US govt could risk being cut off from those patents. Even if you think they should just ignore the patents and build them anyway that would still cut them off from future research.

From the perspective of ASML even if they don't like this they really don't have a lot of choice but to do it and it probably does not have a huge short term effect on them financially anyway since they are already booked up for years in advance so they really only miss out on things like service contracts.

Last I checked the Netherlands weren't part of the U.S.

Even if I agreed that such export controls were of significant strategic importance, I don't think it's worth applying extreme pressure to our allies to accomplish it. The notion that China can't innovate becomes less true by the year.

The AI build out is an engineering disaster. China will catch up irrespective of what controls we apply to inhibit them. If we can't out-compete them, then we lose.

It would probably be much easier to out-compete them if we weren't actively destroying the greatest network of alliances in human history. We're fucking morons.

It's time for Europe to decide if we want to be a US puppet state or independent.

Maybe EU should ban ASML from selling to USA?
And make a law specifically to allow ASML to sell to China.
Unfortunately many politicians in Europe are doing as USA ask. But the reality is that USA depend more on EU than the other way around. So we should not let USA decide anything, at a minimum they should consult EU first! Brats.
Half the US soft power comes from EU and allies supporting USA. Without us, USA would never have become the global leader they have been for 7 decades.
We allowed that because USA helped us in WW2, and it worked pretty well for half a century.
But unfortunately USA has torn up all agreements and are walking away from their responsibilities, and work against their allies.
We don't owe USA anything anymore, maybe Americans should wake up and realize that.

Fuck the United Pedo States of Shamerica

"NU.nl noted that, under the Match Act, American companies would still be allowed to sell their most advanced chip etching machines to Chinese customers. China has discovered that, using these etching techniques and DUV machines, they could produce chips that typically require an EUV machine."

Rules for thee, but not for me. Nobody likes a bully, decoupling from the USA becomes ever more inevitable.

The US keeps forgetting that if they disrupt ASML they also would not get their machines. Keep shooting yourself in the foot guys.

Europeans: We are not vassal states.

Also Europeans:

Does China not have its own women who whisper while rustling paper?

Oceania will not tolerate Eurasia giving technology to Eastasia.

Some company in China just duplicated ASMLs shtick, didn’t they ?

If they can’t buy it, they will steal the IP and sell it cheaper since they don’t have to repay R&D anymore.

Seriously, my country is fucking stupid.