The US can ban the supply of any equipment and technology to China, as it does now for Russia

A new stage of economic confrontation between the USA and China is beginning. The US government has already imposed a series of tough restrictions on the supply of high-performance chips and technology to China, but it seems that it is not going to stop there.

It has been reported that Tokyo Electron and ASML Holding NV, major suppliers of semiconductor technology and equipment, have been warned for helping China circumvent these restrictions. In this regard, the USA is considering the possibility of introducing tougher measures, prior to the application of the FDPR (Foreign Direct Product Rule).

Under the FDPR, if a product was made using American technology, the US government has the right to stop its sale, including products made in another country. Currently, such restrictions already apply to Russia, where the direct supply of any equipment and technologies is prohibited.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is demanding tougher restrictions on Chinese partners from Japanese and Dutch companies. The reaction of the companies is still unknown. A Tokyo Electron representative said he could not comment on geopolitical issues. ASML has also not yet received any comment.

However, it is known that when the supply of EUV lithographers to China was banned at the beginning of the year, ASML stopped shipping lithographic equipment of the old DUV standard under ready-made contracts under US pressure. Therefore, the strong claims against ASML are somewhat surprising.