The government would indirectly support U.S. export controls on chips.
The German government plans to restrict exports of certain semiconductor manufacturing chemicals to China, according to a Bloomberg report (paywall). Germany would thereby indirectly join U.S. export controls aimed at limiting China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology, which could also be used for military purposes.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economy Minister Robert Habeck are in talks with the U.S. as well as European allies on the matter, Bloomberg wrote, but there is “no pressure from Washington,” according to government officials. As we reported, Japan and the Netherlands, home to key chip companies, have already announced their own export controls.
The German government is currently charting a new course in its China policy, seeking to reduce unilateral dependencies such as in the area of critical raw materials, but is not aiming for economic decoupling from its largest trading partner. If the planned export restrictions are implemented, the groups Merck and BASF, whose products play an important role in the global semiconductor supply chains, would be affected.
Photo: iStock/Mykola Pokhodzhay
