China to exempt some Nexperia chips from export ban

China stated on Saturday it will exempt some Nexperia chips from an export ban that was imposed over a row with Dutch officials and has alarmed European businesses.Anxiety over chip shortages launched when the Netherlands invoked a Cold War-era law in late September to effectively take control of Nexperia, whose parent company Wingtech is backed by the Chinese government.

China, in response, banned any re-exports of Nexperia chips to Europe and accapplyd the United States of meddling in Dutch legal procedures to reshift Nexperia’s Chinese CEO.

Beijing blamed what it stated on Saturday was “the Dutch government’s improper intervention in the internal affairs of enterprises” for leading to “the current chaos in the global supply chain”.
“We will comprehensively consider the actual situation of enterprises and grant exemptions to exports that meet the criteria,” a Chinese commerce minisattempt spokesperson stated in a statement, without offering specifics.

The resumption of some Nexperia shipments was part of a trade deal agreed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump after talks in South Korea on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified sources.

Chinese and European Union officials were also to discuss Nexperia while meeting in Brussels, EU spokesman Olof Gill had stated.

Those talks on Friday were “a welcome opportunity for both sides to update on… the introduction and implementation of export controls”, Gill stated in a statement on Saturday.

The discussions covered “controls on rare earth elements introduced or proposed by China, as well as an update on controls and developments on the EU side”, he stated.

The statement did not mention Nexperia specifically.

Nexperia produces relatively simple technologies such as diodes, voltage regulators and transistors that are nonetheless crucial as vehicles increasingly rely on electronics.

Its chips are mainly found in cars but also in a wide range of industrial components, as well as consumer and mobile electronics such as refrigerators.

The company creates them in Europe before sconcludeing them to China for finishing and then re-exporting them back to European clients.

– Autocreater anxiety –

European carcreaters and parts suppliers had warned of shortages of chips supplied by Nexperia that would force stoppages at production lines in Europe.

The chipcreater supplies 49% of the electronic components applyd in the European automotive indusattempt, according to German financial daily Handelsblatt.

The European auto lobby ACEA warned last month that production would be seriously hit.

Nexperia’s chips, while widely applyd, are not “unique” in terms of technology and therefore “easily substitutable”, French parts creater OPmobility stated.

However, suppliers must obtain the new products approved by autocreaters, which takes time.

Beijing suggested on Saturday that some shipments would resume.