ASML is a Dutch company, who builds EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) and DUV (Deep UV) lithography machines for advanced chipmaking.

After pressure during the first Trump Administration, the Netherlands restricted ASML’s exports of EUV machines to China.

The Chinese developed a domestic industry to manufacture EUV and DUV equipment, and have recently achieved breakthroughs in prototypes and tools for both.

But China also moved against ASML’s supply chains for the EUV devices. They discovered that a German company relied on Chinese rare earth materials to make coating materials for ASML, and put that company on its own export controls lists.