Chip shipments from China to Europe’s automotive industry are set to resume following last week’s agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Netherlands has indicated that its dispute with Beijing is nearing resolution, as China shows signs of relaxing its export restrictions on crucial automotive components.
The conflict was triggered when the Dutch government seized control of chipmaker Nexperia in late September, following U.S. security concerns over its Chinese parent company, Wingtech. In response, Beijing suspended all exports from Nexperia’s Chinese facilities, posing a risk to automotive manufacturing in Europe and Japan.
The White House had placed Wingtech on a list of firms whose exports to the U.S. would be regulated under its ‘affiliate rule.’ Under the agreement reached between Trump and Xi in South Korea, U.S. authorities will now postpone enforcing this rule for one year, while China agrees to temporarily lift its export restrictions on chips and key rare-earth minerals.
On Thursday, Dutch economy minister Vincent Karremans stated that Nexperia chips would soon be delivered to customers across Europe and globally. Meanwhile, Aumovio—a key supplier to Germany’s automotive sector—confirmed on Friday that it had received confirmation from China regarding the resumption of chip supplies to its facilities.
Nexperia in the Netherlands expressed satisfaction with the one-year delay in implementing the U.S. affiliate rule and welcomed China’s pledge to help restart exports from its facility in China.
However, the company cautioned that uncertainties remain, and it is still unclear ‘if or when’ shipments from its Chinese plant will resume.
The dispute, which risked disrupting car production in Europe, highlights the global scale of the automotive supply chain and the dependence of European and Japanese manufacturers on Chinese chip supplies.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources, the Dutch government is prepared to suspend the order allowing it to block or alter major corporate decisions at Nexperia, provided China resumes its exports of critical chips. Karremans stated that the Netherlands had been notified by both Beijing and Washington that last month’s agreement between Trump and Xi would allow supplies from Nexperia’s Chinese facilities to resume.
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