Overview
- ASML was told in meetings with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in April 2026 that senior U.S. officials are concerned one of the company’s top-end EUV machines may have reached China.
- ASML has repeatedly denied the claim and circulated an internal briefing titled “No indication of any ASML EUV System in China” saying 314 EUV tools are active worldwide, 26 are decommissioned, and none are in China.
- The company’s document says EUV systems are monitored remotely and cannot be moved or repaired without ASML’s specialised handling, which the firm cites as a technical barrier to any unauthorised relocation.
- U.S. officials have also alleged ASML provided technical support to Chinese firm SwaySure to help it adapt to U.S. rules, a claim the officials declined to detail and that ASML has not publicly confirmed.
- EUV machines enable the most advanced AI and high-performance chips and have been blocked from sale to China by export curbs since the Trump administration, so a confirmed breach would likely trigger stricter enforcement and greater diplomatic strain.