ASML stock tumbles as US bill threatens China chip tool sales

ASML shares fell 2.6% on Tuesday after a group of bipartisan US lawmakers introduced legislation last week that could further restrict the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker's already constrained sales to China.

The bill, if passed, would extend export controls to include less advanced chipmaking tools that Chinese manufacturers have so far been permitted to buy.

The move would represent a significant escalation in Washington’s campaign to limit Beijing’s semiconductor ambitions.

What the MATCH Act proposes

The Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act — known as the MATCH Act — was introduced on Thursday by a bipartisan group of legislators led by Representative Michael Baumgartner of Washington state.

The bill is designed to cut China off from a broader range of chipmaking equipment and to coordinate export restrictions more closely among US allies, closing what sponsors describe as a critical gap in the current regime.

"While the US has imposed extensive export controls to slow China's semiconductor indigenization, US allies have not fully matched these measures," Baumgartner's office said in a statement published on 2 April.

"This misalignment has left critical gaps that China continues to exploit."

What is at stake for ASML

ASML occupies a singular position in the global semiconductor supply chain as the sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines — the equipment required to produce the world's most advanced chips.

The company has never exported any of its EUV machines to China, in line with existing Dutch and US controls on cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

However, ASML also produces deep ultraviolet lithography machines, a less advanced category used to manufacture memory chips and other components found in everyday devices from laptops to smartphones.

Some DUV machines are already subject to Dutch export licensing requirements, but China's largest chipmakers have continued to acquire them under the current framework.

The MATCH Act would close that avenue entirely, prohibiting exports of DUV machines to China and removing one of the few remaining commercial channels ASML has into the Chinese market.

Why this matters beyond ASML

China represents a meaningful share of ASML's revenue, and any legislative tightening that further restricts DUV sales would compound pressure on a business already navigating a fragile demand environment.

More broadly, the MATCH Act signals a push by US legislators to move beyond unilateral export controls and build a coordinated multilateral framework — pressuring allied governments in Europe and Asia to align their own restrictions with those of Washington.

For the Netherlands in particular, where ASML is among the most strategically significant companies in the country, the bill raises difficult questions about sovereignty over export policy and the management of trade relationships with both the US and China.