Minister Karremans: Nexperia will supply chips again
He said this in a message on X . "Given the constructive nature of our discussions with the Chinese authorities, the Netherlands is confident that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia's customers in the coming days," Karremans writes.
In his statement, the minister refers to the "trade and economic agreement" between China and the US from last week . China already said on Saturday that the export ban on Nexperia chips had been lifted, at least partially.
There are still some snags in lifting the export ban. For example, permission must still be requested from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for the export of Nexperia chips outside China.
The Dutch government is prepared to relinquish control over Nexperia to reduce tensions with the Chinese government, Bloomberg news agency reported this morning, citing insiders.
This would require the suspension of a so-called ministerial decree. This decree gave the Netherlands the authority to block or change important business decisions at chip manufacturer Nexperia. The government reportedly wants to suspend the decree as early as next week. The condition is that China then resumes the export of its critical chips.
"If that's true, then you have to wonder what Karremans' intervention was about," says Roland Smid, China correspondent for RTL Nieuws. "It's a bit of a capitulation, though that will have to become clear from the details."
According to Smid, if Bloomberg's reporting is accurate, a few questions remain. "What will happen to the European managers who were about to be fired?" he wonders. Furthermore, the Dutch government has no influence on the Enterprise Chamber's ruling, which temporarily sidelined Xuezheng Zhang, the Chinese CEO of Nexperia, Smid points out.
Karremans neither confirms nor denies Bloomberg's report.
If Nexperia were to start supplying chips again, it would be a relief for car manufacturers worldwide. Japanese carmaker Nissan, for example, is scaling back production due to a shortage of Nexperia chips.
Honda, another Japanese automaker, has already cut production in the US, and Bosch, the German auto supplier, is temporarily reducing working hours at two factories in Germany due to the shortages.
German car manufacturers are also concerned. Volkswagen is facing a production halt, and the company warns that the chip shortage could impact this year's financial targets. BMW has called on politicians to find a solution.
Today, Aumovio, a German automotive supplier, announced that Nexperia has resumed chip exports to Germany. "We are exporting chips from China again," CEO Philipp von Hirschheydt said this morning when the company released its third-quarter results.
Despite the fact that exports have resumed, Von Hirschheydt says there will still be disruptions for car manufacturers. A four-week supply standstill would be a significant blow to the automotive industry, he says.
Karremans interventionAt the end of September, Karremans intervened at Nexperia in Nijmegen out of concern that the Chinese owner, Wingtech, would withdraw activities and expertise from the Netherlands. China subsequently halted the export of chips from Nexperia's Chinese factories. This threatened to cause major problems for the European automotive industry, among other things.
This video shows footage of the controversial Nexperia boss's multi-million dollar villa in Loenen aan de Vecht, Utrecht:
RTL Nieuws
