US’s discussions with Japan, and the Netherlands to sanction China on chips will yield no immediate effect

In an effort to halt Beijing’s scientific and military advancements, the Biden administration unveiled a comprehensive set of export regulations in October, including measures that severely restrict Chinese access to US chipmaking technology.

The White House will discuss a recent crackdown on exports of chip-making tools to China with Japanese and Dutch officials during upcoming visits, but they will not result in “immediate” pledges from the two countries to impose similar curbs, a person familiar with US officials’ thinking said on Thursday.

However, given that leading manufacturers of chipmaking equipment include Japanese and Dutch companies Tokyo Electron and ASML, it has not yet persuaded important allies to implement equivalent equipment constraints, which are seen to be necessary for manufacturing the restrictions effective.

Upcoming meetings between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the White House on Friday and next Tuesday, respectively, will provide forums to discuss the issue, said a person briefed on US officials’ thinking.

But, “these visits will not result in immediate announcements and (are) part of our ongoing consultations on these issues,” the person cautioned.A key commerce department official said in October that such agreements were coming “in the near term”.