A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers has introduced the MATCH Act, a bill that significantly tightens export restrictions on chip manufacturing equipment to China. ASML is naturally at the center of the proposal, given its monopoly on advanced chip manufacturing equipment. In 2025, China accounted for 33 percent of the Dutch chip machine manufacturer’s revenue, but that share is at risk of shrinking further.
The MATCH Act, announced late Thursday evening, targets technologies that China imports because the country cannot produce them itself. Specifically, this concerns immersion DUV lithography, the technology used to etch chip patterns onto silicon. It is a market completely dominated by ASML. The small Japanese company Nikon is the only other major player, but in the field of advanced EUV equipment, there is no alternative to ASML.
The bill goes beyond the rules already in place. Existing export restrictions, coordinated between Washington and The Hague, already prohibit ASML from shipping its most advanced EUV machines to China. The U.S. had previously imposed stricter export restrictions on ASML as well. However, ASML still sells older DUV systems to Chinese chipmakers. That is precisely what the MATCH Act aims to stop, including maintenance on those machines. This would effectively amount to a forced breach of contract and a significant reduction in sales for ASML.
Chinese chipmakers on the target list
The proposal explicitly names the Chinese companies affected: SMIC, Hua Hong, Huawei, CXMT, and YMTC will no longer be allowed to purchase or have chip manufacturing machines serviced. The previous administration had previously expressed concerns that ASML risks becoming a weapon in the trade war between the U.S. and China; which, in fact, it has been for years.
China was ASML’s largest market in 2025, accounting for 33 percent of total revenue. In January, ASML itself reported that this share would drop to approximately 20 percent this year. The MATCH Act would further accelerate that process.
Cautious Reactions
ASML declined to comment on Friday. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which oversees export policy, also declined to comment on the substance of the matter. “It is not our place to comment on draft legislation proposed by lawmakers from other countries,” said a spokesperson.
It is notable that the MATCH Act comes from the House of Representatives, not from President Trump. Previous rounds of export restrictions were driven by the White House, under both Trump and Biden. The proposal must still go through the usual legislative process.