Nexperia has been cleared to resume shipping some chips from China, signaling the global industry may avert a major supply disruption after all.
The details: After days of tense negotiations, Beijing has reached an agreement with the Netherlands over the Dutch chipmaker—lifting the ban on shipments from China, with the European Commission revealing some details of the deal with China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), reports Reuters.
China’s foreign trade, export, and import regulations arm agrees to grant exemptions from licensing requirements to any exporter as long as the goods are intended for “civilian” use.
The measure (a result of ongoing talks between Chinese and Dutch authorities) is scheduled to take effect immediately, though it appears that not all issues have been fully resolved.
What they’re saying: “China has taken practical measures to exempt compliant exports for civilian purposes,” said China’s Ministry of Commerce, (via Yahoo Finance). “I would like to emphasise that we welcome the continued influence of the European side and urge the Dutch side to correct its wrong practices as soon as possible."
Why it matters: Nexperia resuming chip shipments suggests a narrow, pragmatic thaw in EU-China tech trade tensions—helping dealers avoid last-minute stop-sales driven by missing chips that disrupt planned allocations, advertising, and deliveries.
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Between the lines: Amid the breadth of Nexperia’s chip exports, European automakers have been at the center of the dispute over the chipmaker and security concerns—among the first to sound the alarm over potential production impacts.
The Salzgitter plant—a lead manufacturing facility for motor control units for combustion and EVs with close ties to Volkswagen—had to cut work hours early in the dispute.
At the outset of the standoff, Mercedes-Benz was among the first automakers to move to secure short-term chip supplies to avoid potential gaps in production.
Bottom line: Nexperia getting cleared to ship again doesn’t resolve the broader EU–China tech friction—but it buys time and stability in a market where even short disruptions can derail operations, revenue, and profits as the industry braces for other headwinds.
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