Dutch put Nexperia on a short leash over chip security fears

"The Dutch government has placed Nexperia - a Chinese-owned semiconductor company that previously operated Britain's Newport Wafer Fab - under special administrative measures, citing serious governance failures that threaten European tech security. The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs invoked the Goods Availability Act in response to what it described as "recent and acute" governance shortcomings at Nexperia, which is owned by China's Wingtech Technology. Officials warned of a "threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities.""

"Under the special measures, the Minister of Economic Affairs can now block or reverse Nexperia's corporate decisions if deemed harmful to the company's interests, its future as a Dutch operation, or the critical supply chain it represents. Reports suggest the intervention may have been triggered by concerns that Nexperia was planning to transfer sensitive chip technology to its China-based parent company."

"Wingtech has reportedly fired back through its official WeChat account, condemning the action as "politically motivated" and driven by "geopolitical bias" rather than legitimate security concerns. According to Wingtech, Nexperia and its global subsidiaries are now prohibited from making any changes to assets, intellectual property, operations, or personnel for one year - effectively freezing the company's worldwide operations. It claims this is being done "under the pretext of 'national security'", yet it "constitutes excessive intervention driven by geopolitical bias, rather than a fact-based risk assessment.""

The Netherlands applied the Goods Availability Act to Nexperia after identifying "recent and acute" governance shortcomings at the Wingtech-owned semiconductor firm. Officials warned of a threat to technological knowledge and capabilities on Dutch and European soil and said losing those capabilities would jeopardize economic security and chip availability for automotive and consumer electronics during emergencies. The measures allow the Minister of Economic Affairs to block or reverse corporate decisions harmful to the company’s interests, its future as a Dutch operation, or the critical supply chain. Reports cite concerns about transferring sensitive chip technology to the China-based parent, while Wingtech called the intervention politically motivated and excessive.

Read at Theregister