Automotive News Europe — 2025-11-01
Automotive Industry
China said it will allow companies deemed eligible to be exempted from its export ban on Nexperia’s semiconductor chips, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said Nov. 1 in a statement.
The statement was made after China’s export ban on the Dutch semiconductor chip supplier forced Honda Motor Co. to suspend production in North America and spurred other global automakers to warn of imminent chip supply shortages.
The move signals an easing of tensions over supply chain kinks.
“We welcome enterprises facing practical difficulties to promptly contact the Ministry of Commerce or local commerce authorities (in China),” the spokesperson said in the statement posted on the ministry’s website.
Several media reports emerged late Oct. 31 that the U.S. would announce that Nexperia will resume shipping chips, citing people familiar with the matter. The news followed a trade pact agreed to by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at their summit this week, the reports said.
“We will comprehensively consider the actual circumstances of enterprises and grant exemptions to eligible exports,” the China ministry spokesperson added.
The ministry didn’t specify when the exceptions would be granted or take effect.
In the statement, the spokesperson also blamed “the improper intervention of the Dutch government in corporate internal affairs” for triggering the disruption of global semiconductor supply.
Nexperia, based in in Nijmegen, Netherlands, was acquired by Chinese electronics company Wingtech Tecnology in 2019.
While operating across Europe, Asia and the U.S., Nexperia heavily relies on its facilities in China to test and package its chips, which are widely used in a variety of auto parts.
On Sept. 30, the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia, citing concerns over national security and “the availability of semiconductor products critical to the European industry.”
Beijing responded Oct. 4 by barring Nexperia from exporting chips from China.