The development follows the Dutch government’s announcement that it would restrict exports of critical chipmaking technology to protect national security

For Chinese customers, the restrictions would mean “that their ability to pursue leading-edge nodes development will be significantly curtailed," Citi analyst Amit Harchandani said

The Netherlands considers it necessary on national security grounds to get this technology into oversight with the greatest of speed, the Dutch trade minister said

The Netherlands will restrict ASML from selling advanced chimaking equipment to China, while Japan would impose similar restrictions on Nikon Corp, media reports said

If the two sides can agree on the details, a deal could be announced as soon as Friday, two sources have said

China was among the biggest markets in 2022 for Europe's largest technology company, as it beat analyst forecasts to report fourth-quarter net profit of 1.82 billion euros ($2 billion)

Washington had expected the Netherlands to follow suit after it imposed China export restrictions on its own chip equipment companies last year but The Hague is drafting up its own response

With a market cap of$240 billion, chipmaker ASML is Europe’s most valuable tech company. Its market-leading position comes from its monopoly in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) machines which allow chipmakers to make smaller, faster and smarter semiconductors

A top Dutch official said the US had 'justified worries' about over-reliance on Asia but the country 'won't sign on the dotted line' without consulting its allies