US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned ASML executives that one of the company's most advanced lithography tools — an EUV machine — may have reached China, raising concerns it could violate US-led export controls. ASML denies ever shipping any EUV system to China.
US–China Tech Rivalry · Export Controls
Did ASML's $370M EUV Colossus Slip Into China?
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned ASML that its most advanced lithography tool may have reached China, alleging shipments of related parts. ASML flatly denies it — saying no EUV machine, module, or dedicated part has ever shipped there. No evidence has been made public.
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Company on Earth that mass-produces EUV lithography systems — ASML
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EUV machines shipped to China since US-led restrictions began ~2019
150t
Weight of a High-NA tool — about a school bus, >100,000 parts
Generational Leap: Resolution
Higher numerical aperture (0.33 → 0.55) lets High-NA print finer features — the prize at the center of the dispute. Shorter column = finer (better).
~13nm
Low-NA (NXE)
~8nm
High-NA (EXE:5000)
Why ASML Says Smuggling Is Implausible
School-bus size
~150 tons, built from over 100,000 components
~6 months
Scheduled servicing required — by ASML staff
Tracked
Every machine monitored; Chinese techs firewalled from access
Intel — early adopter
Deployed the High-NA EXE:5000 in R&D, reporting reliability above its initial targets.
TSMC — holding back
No full adoption before 2029, citing the ~$370M price; competing via process integration and cost efficiency.
The bottom line: Fouquet calls High-NA a design built to cover the next 10–20 years. With Washington's evidence undisclosed, the two sides' claims stand in direct opposition — and China is reported to have built its own EUV prototype in Shenzhen in December 2025.
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