WASHINGTON: The United States has secured a deal with the Netherlands and Japan to restrict exports of some advanced chip-making machinery to China in talks that concluded on Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The agreement would extend some export controls the United States adopted in October to companies based in the two allied nations, including ASML Holding NV, Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd, the report said.

Officials from the Netherlands and Japan were in Washington discussing a wide range of issues in talks led by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, earlier said the officials were talking about issues that are “important to all three of us.” “And certainly the safety and security of emerging technologies is going to be on that agenda,” he told reporters.

A source familiar with the talks said restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China was among the topics.

Getting the Netherlands and Japan to impose tighter export controls on China would be a major diplomatic win for President Joe Biden’s administration, which in October announced sweeping restrictions on Beijing’s access to US chipmaking technology to slow its technological and military advances.

When asked about the Bloom­b­erg report, the White House decli­ned to comment beyond Kirby’s earlier remarks.

The Dutch foreign ministry and a spokesperson at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry declined to comment.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2023