A dispute between Amsterdam and Beijing over technology transfer has held up chip supplies to car manufacturers. The Chinese government has slammed the Netherlands over its seizure of chipmaker Nexperia, blaming it for jamming up a resolution to a dispute that has disrupted car sector supply chains, hit production and caused some firms to furlough staff. Nexperia, Chinese-owned but based in the Netherlands, makes billions of simple but ubiquitous chips for cars and other electronics.
Small, flat squares of silicon with maze-like patterns etched on their surface are now the backbone of pretty much every major industry. That means that trade barriers and disruptions in semiconductor production can have ripple effects across the world. That's exactly what's happening now, as a major European automotive chipmaker has found itself in the middle of a geopolitical firestorm between China and the West, which could upend car production.