Semiconductors are at the center of the U.S.-China technology trade war.
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shares ASML The company’s shares rose 10% on Wednesday after Reuters reported that the company could be exempted from expanded export restrictions on Chinese chip manufacturing equipment.
Reuters The United States is considering expanding so-called foreign direct product rules, but allies that export critical chipmaking equipment – including Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea – would be excluded, reports said on Thursday.
Reuters reported that exports to China from countries such as Israel, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia will be affected by US regulations. Taiwan is British Semiconductorthe world’s largest chip manufacturing plant.
That contrasts with a Bloomberg report earlier this month that suggested companies from those countries would be included in the rule’s expansion.
Foreign direct product legislation states that any company that uses even a small portion of U.S. technology to produce semiconductor-related products may not be able to export those products to China. The U.S. rule could affect foreign companies, which often rely on U.S. technology.
Netherlands-based ASML is an important semiconductor company because it produces the machines needed to make the world’s most advanced wafers.
shares Tokyo ElectronicsAfter the report was released, Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturers also closed up more than 7% on Thursday.
Shares of both companies fell after Bloomberg released preliminary reports earlier this month.
Shares of South Korean memory chip companies Samsung and SK Hynix were also higher, Reuters reported. Samsung’s gains also came after the company reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat market expectations.
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