By Adam Clark
ASML Holding shares edged down on Friday as investors reacted to a report the chipmaking equipment company was facing scrutiny from the Trump administration about the potential use of its machines by China.
ASML shares were down 0.5% in local trading in Amsterdam, paring earlier losses of as much as 2.7%.
The Dutch company has been banned from exporting its most advanced technology, known as extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography to China since 2019. However, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed concern that the Chinese may have possession of one such machine in talks with company executives, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
"ASML has never shipped an EUV machine to China nor have we shipped to China any component, module or equipment specially designed to be used in an EUV machine," the company said in an emailed statement.
American worries about ASML's machines reaching China have been a persistent theme in recent years. In April, a bipartisan group of U.S. representatives introduced a bill to further restrict semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales to China. The Match Act would extend current bans on the sale of EUV lithography equipment to include older tools or deep ultraviolet lithography systems.
ASML has previously said it expects Chinese sales to comprise 20% of its 2026 sales. However, it made a similar prediction for 2025 and eventually made a third of its sales to China last year.
While U.S. restrictions on China sales are a concern for ASML, the bigger picture is still positive. The company's Amsterdam-listed shares are up 157% over the past 12 months amid a surge of investment in semiconductor manufacturing, prompted by demand for artificial-intelligence hardware.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 19, 2026 12:10 ET (16:10 GMT)
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