The US government has warned officials in the Netherlands and Japan that it may impose its Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) on suppliers of chip-manufacturing equipment if they don’t further restrict their dealings with China.
FDPR allows the US to put restrictions on foreign-made products which contain any US-sourced technology however insignificant. The measures are seen as particularly affecting ASML and Tokyo Electron.
One aim is stop non-US companies sending personnel to China to service and repair restricted equipment which is already in China. US companies are already barred from doing that.
Some US companies are alarmed at FDPR being introduced because it will encourage their customers to drop them.