The Dutch government announced on Wednesday that it had halted its intervention in Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, after positive discussions with Chinese officials.
In a statement posted on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans said, “We see this as a show of goodwill.”
Karremans wrote in a separate letter to parliament that it was now apparent that Beijing was allowing companies in European and other nations to export Nexperia chips, and cited that “this is an important step.”
The development seems to end a tussle battle between the Netherlands and China, a tussle that had led to global automotive groups raising the alarm over deteriorating chip shortages.
The Dutch economic affairs ministry indicated that the nation believed that it was the right moment to take a constructive step,” by suspending the order under the Goods Availability Act.
It further stated that it would continue to discuss the issue with the Chinese authorities during the coming weekends.
According to a CNBC translation of the statement, the Commerce Ministry of China stated that the stoppage was a “first step in the right direction” but that more needs to be done to understand the root cause of “turmoil and chaos” in the global semiconductor supply chain.
CNBC has contacted Nexperia, located in the Netherlands but owned by the Chinese company Wingtech, and the Chinese embassy in the U.K. to provide comment.
The case of Nexperia started in September when the Dutch government used a law that occurred during the Cold War to practically nationalize the company. Therefore, the extremely bizarre action was said to have been taken following the U.S. security concerns.
The Dutch government referred to concerns in its decision that technology provided by the company, which is specialized in the mass production of chips utilized in the automotive sector, that “would become unavailable in an emergency.” However, China reacted by banning the export of finished products of the company.
European Union Trade Chief and Executive Vice President, Maroš Šefčovič, on Wednesday welcomed a decision by the Dutch government to suspend its intervention at Nexperia and said that the move will contribute to stabilizing strategic supply chains.
Šefčovič said in a post on X that “Continued constructive engagement with partners remains essential to securing reliable global flows. I stay in close contact with all my counterparts.”
However, the Shares of Europe’s auto giants were trading ambivalent on Wednesday morning. Milan-listed Stellantis, the parent of Jeep, RAM, Dodge, and Chrysler, was last reported 0.1 percent increase.
Thus, Germany’s Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz Group, and Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, were all trading marginally down at 11:12 a.m. London time (6:12 a.m. ET).
