Dutch national additional export control measures for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment

The Dutch Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Regulation

On 30 June 2023, the Dutch government published a regulation in the Government Gazette containing additional export control measures for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment (“Regulation on Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment” (hereafter: “the Dutch Regulation”)). The effect of the Dutch Regulation is that, from 1 September 2023, Dutch companies wishing to export such equipment will have to apply for and submit a licence to the Central Import and Export Service (“CDIU”). According to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Liesje Schreinemacher, these additional export control measures are necessary to prevent the uncontrolled export of goods and technologies and thus to reduce the risks to (inter)national security. This in view of, on the one hand, the important role the Netherlands plays globally in the semiconductor value chain, which is of great strategic importance for (future) military and civilian applications, and, on the other hand, the technological developments and geopolitical context.

What kind of production equipment will be affected by the additional export control measures?

The additional national export control measures concern very specific technologies in the semiconductor production cycle in which the Netherlands has a unique and leading position. In brief, based on the Annex to the Dutch Regulation, a licence must be applied for and submitted for the export of the following items:

• EUV pellicles (3B001.l)
• Production equipment or EUV pellicles (3B001.m)
• Lithography equipment (3B001.f.4)
• Equipment for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of work function metals (3B001.d.12)
• Equipment designed for epitaxial growth of silicon (Si), carbon doped silicon, silicon-germanium (SiGe) or carbon doped SiGe (3B001.a.4)
• Equipment designed for the enhanced deposition of a layer of low-k dielectric through void-free plasma (3B001.d.19)
• Software specially designed for the development, production or use of the equipment specified in commodity codes 3B001.l, 3B001.m, 3B001.f.4, 3B001.d.12, 3B001.a.4 or 3B001.d.19
• Technology required for the development, production or use of equipment specified in commodity codes 3B001.l, 3B001.m, 3B001.f.4, 3B001.d.12, 3B001.a.4 or 3B001.d.19.

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the abovementioned commodity codes for the controlled items are specific to the Dutch Regulation and therefore do not appear in Annex I of the European Dual-Use Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/821). As a result, the export items listed in the Annex to the Dutch Regulation are not (yet) controlled at European level under Regulation (EU) 2021/821.

The licence

The export licence applications must be submitted to the CDIU, as mentioned above. The application forms can be downloaded from the website of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. The information required when applying for a licence relates to the main characteristics of the transaction. This includes details of the goods, the consignee, the end-user of the goods and the end-use. In addition to the information requested on the application form, the CDIU may request additional information and documentation, such as the contract underlying the export, technical specifications, or an end-use statement.

Please note that a licence may be revoked if it has been granted on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information, if the terms, conditions and limitations of the licence have not been complied with, and/or if national foreign policy and security considerations warrant.